


Memento Mori

by HollySophia



Category: South Park
Genre: Abusive Parents, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Attempted Murder, Blood and Violence, Characters play D&D, Child Abuse, Cults, Dark Past, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Explicit Language, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Psychological Horror, Slow Burn, Supernatural Elements, Trauma, my babies are nerds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2019-05-07 13:13:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 35,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14671817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HollySophia/pseuds/HollySophia
Summary: South Park has always been a crazy place. Craig Tucker knows this better than most. But then a kid named Tweek moves to town and suddenly, South Park becomes more than crazy—it’s dangerous, sinister even. Still, there’s something drawing him to this new kid, pulling them both into a terrifying, unknown world that Craig isn’t sure they’ll come back from. But when it comes to Tweek, he could never stay away.





	1. Shadows

On the day it all began, the sky was dark, clouds only broken by the bright flashes of lightning, illuminating the self-proclaimed, quiet mountain town below. Craig let his gaze drift from the approaching storm to the house next door, watching as the small, blonde boy walked outside again. For reasons unknown, he was interested in what the boy did. Craig had never seen someone twitch as much as him. The blonde kept wringing his hands together, glancing nervously around him, almost like he expected someone to jump out. Craig briefly wondered if this kid was on drugs. It would have explained his spastic behavior away, but something told Craig that this wasn’t the case.

  
All his life, Craig had an uncanny ability to read people. But it wasn’t something he was particularly happy about. After all, life was easier if you didn’t have to read between the lines with people. If you just accepted everything at face value, you didn't had to wonder what was really going on. Craig was never able to do that. This irritated him to no end because he didn’t want to know and he certainly didn’t want to care. Once he figured out that he had this ability, Craig immediately put it into a box in the back of his mind that he never touched. After all, what did he need it for? He had a small circle of people that mattered to him and he didn’t need to read them. Besides, it was safer if you didn’t read people. You wouldn’t always like what you found.

“Craig, honey?”

He turned in his seat, glancing at his Mom who stood in his bedroom doorway. She had her work clothes on still, which meant that she was really tired, too tired to even change. His eyes shifted to her face and he noted the dark circles under her eyes. “Yeah, Mom?”

“Would you mind walking over to the Broflovski’s house and picking up Tricia? It’s getting close to dinner time.”

“Sure. I can do that.” Craig got up from his desk chair; hunting for the last place he saw his jacket. He tried to keep his room clean, mostly because he knew that the mess stressed his Mom out. But he was still a teenage boy—mess was bound to happen. Finally, he spotted it, wrapped up in the blankets on his bed. As he slipped it on, he took a quick look out the window again, noticing that the blonde boy was gone.

_‘Too bad. Watching him was at least something to do.’_

Craig left his room, starting down the stairs as slowly as possible. He was trying to think of anything other than the homework sitting on his desk, demanding his attention. At the moment, he was looking for any excuse to avoid anything related to homework. That was partly why he was so fixated on the new kid next door. But with him gone again, Craig was glad that he had a reason to get out of the house for a bit, even if it was just to pick up Ruby. It’s not that he didn’t like school or that he wasn’t good at it, but he didn’t find it interesting. He wanted to learn things—not just do busy work, which was basically all he got at South Park High School.

  
He stepped off the stairs, turning towards the sounds of cooking in the kitchen. His Mom stood in front of the stove, sliding some chopped up vegetables into a large pot. He went to stand partially in the doorway, leaning against the frame as he asked,

“How was work?”

His Mom gave him a tight smile, reaching for a mixing spoon to stir. She said, “Well, I had to call the police again today.”

“What for?” Craig asked, only slightly curious. Shit always happened in South Park and the stuff that went down at the Komfort Inn was no exception.

“Someone died.” She said matter of factly. Like it was normal for someone to die at the local motel. At least, here it was.

“Was it drugs again?”

She shook her head, staring intently at the pot in front of her. “No, I guess he shoved a mop handle up his ass. And he ruptured something—bled out in one of the beds, the police said.” With a sigh, she continued, “Some days, I’m really glad I don’t work in housekeeping anymore.”

“No kidding.” Craig replied, his voice emotionless as usual. “The shit people do is crazy.”

His Mom nodded, completely glossing over the fact that he was swearing. She didn’t care really. Sometimes, just to act like she was a regular Mom, she would call him out on it, but mostly she joined in. “Just a typical day in South Park, huh?”

“You’re not wrong.” Craig said, following it up with, “I’ll be back soon.”

Over her shoulder, his Mom replied absently, “Okay, I’ll be here.”

Craig took his time once he got outside, slowly walking down the front steps onto the sidewalk. It wasn’t too far of a walk from his house to the Broflovski’s, just a couple streets over, so he intended to make the most of it. Nearby, there was a loud clap of thunder. Craig glanced up toward the sky, checking that it hadn’t started to rain yet. He probably should have brought an umbrella with him, but whatever. It was too late now.

As he walked down the street, he thought about the Dungeons and Dragons game that he and his friends were currently playing. This was the first time he had ever played the game before, which Clyde was excited about. He had been trying to convince Craig to play for ages, but Craig just wasn’t interested. Finally, Clyde had mentioned that Token was running a campaign that he had come up with all on his own—some sort of horror game. Craig liked the sound of that. He was into scary movies on his own already, so this campaign sounded like it wouldn’t be terrible to try. Besides, he could tell that his friends were just happy to have him around. Even if he kept saying things like, ‘This is set in 1800’s England, so why is everyone American except for me?’ They just kept telling him to quit being so logical. Like that was even possible for him.

He realized belatedly that he was standing in front of the Broflovski’s house and sighed. This meant he would have to go back to homework soon. He really didn’t want to do that. Begrudgingly, he walked up the steps to their front door and rang the doorbell, sticking his hands in his jacket pockets as a chilly wind blew by.

It took a minute before someone came to the door. Craig recognized the bright, green ushanka in the little window of the door, even before it opened. Kyle came into view, giving Craig an odd look. “Umm, hi Craig?”

“I’m here to pick up my sister.” He replied, in his nasally, emotionless tone of voice.

“Dude, my Mom drove her back to your house. You know, since it’s about to rain?” Kyle said, nodding at the dark sky.

Craig blinked. Of course. That made sense. So he said, “Okay.”

“You should probably head home pretty quick too. It looks like it’s gonna start coming down any second now.” Kyle pointed out.

Craig nodded. He casually said, “Yep.” Without bothering to say goodbye to Kyle, he turned around, making his way back to the sidewalk. Honestly, he didn’t care if it started raining on him. Other people freaked out if they got even the tiniest bit caught in a rain storm. Not Craig. But he didn’t care about many things anyways. So when it started pouring right as he hit his street, it didn’t matter. It was just one minor inconvenience in the major inconvenience that was his life.

He started to pass the new kid’s house and that was when several things happened at once. First, there was an especially loud clap of thunder. Second, there was a terrified scream nearby. Third, someone came barreling into him, knocking the wind out of his lungs as he landed on the sidewalk. With a groan, he opened his eyes, trying to keep the rain drops at bay as he stared up at the sky. His back hurt and all he could manage to say was, “Ugh.”

The same blonde boy he watched earlier came into view above him. His green eyes were wide and he looked terrified. With a panicked voice, he sputtered out, “Ohmygod! I’m so sorry! The thunder freaked me out and I didn’t know what to do!”

Craig blinked, taking a moment before he stood to his feet. The blonde boy had his fingers tangled in his wild, blonde hair, the rain pressing it down against his skull. His scared face reminded Craig of the video they watched in class the other day, where a zebra accidentally got caught in quicksand. He said flatly, “It’s fine.”

“But I knocked you down! Are you okay? Oh god, what if you broke something and you have to go to the hospital? Jesus Christ, that’s way too much pressure!” The blonde boy started to twitch again, muttering under his breath.

Craig repeated, “I’m fine.” Then he stared at the blonde, asking, “Why are you out here in the rain?”

“I—ngh—forgot my coffee in the car!” He said, holding out a silver thermos towards Craig, like some sort of shield.

Craig blankly stared at him. “Well, now you have it.”

The blonde stared back at him, looking confused. He looked at the thermos like he expected it to have disappeared, then he looked back at Craig. “Y—yes?”

“So you can go inside now.”

The boy’s right eye twitched and he said, “Ack, okay!” Then he started up the driveway to his house, before turning around and looking at Craig with wide eyes. “You’re not gonna stay out here are you? What if you get sick? What if you get some super germ that infects the whole world and everyone gets sick and then…”

“Dude, chill. I’m going inside.” Craig pointed at his house. “I live right next door. I’ll be fine.”

“O—okay. Okay okay okay.” The blonde said this like a chant, almost like he was trying to calm himself down. He started to turn around again, but then Craig had a thought that he couldn’t resist.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

The blonde seemed surprised. “You—you want to know my n—n—name?”

Craig nodded. “Yes.”

He shrieked, before shouting out, “Tweek!” Then he darted towards his house like a bat out of hell. Craig watched him go; not even paying attention to the rain or the fact that he was getting completely soaked. He didn’t know what had come over him a moment ago. Why had he even bothered to ask for the blonde boy’s name? _‘He startled me. That’s all. I would have kept watching him from the window, never bothering to know his name, if it weren’t for the damn thunder.’_ Craig took a deep breath, letting it out through his nose. Since he was officially drenched by the rain, he figured that now seemed as good a time as any to head back inside. So he turned away from the boy’s house, heading back to his own, trying to think of anything other than scared, green eyes and twitchy fingers.

~

Tweek slammed the door when he made his panicked way back into his house. He wasn’t sure if it was the storm that scared him or the way that guy suddenly appeared out of nowhere. But either way, he was downright jittery so he twisted the cap off his thermos, taking a long drink of coffee. His parents had the TV on in the living room but neither of them was there. Once all their stuff was moved into the house, they disappeared to their room upstairs and hadn’t come back down. But Tweek didn’t mind. If anything, he was grateful for the time alone. It felt like they’d been babying him all day and he hated it.

_‘They keep trying to act like everything is okay. But it’s not. I hate when they do that.’_

He sighed, plopping down on the couch. Even though the TV was on, he didn’t bother to look at it. Instead, he stared outside, watching the rain fall down. He wasn’t one to believe in bad omens, but if he did then everything was cursed from the start. Of course, considering what had happened, this whole situation was pretty much fucked at this point.

“It’s my fault that we’re here.” Tweek muttered, running his fingers through his wet hair. “This is such shit—ngh—such stupid sh—shit!” He was getting stressed out and his mouth kept betraying him, making the words so much harder to say. He hated that too. Yet another thing on his list of things that he hated today. His parents kept telling him to have a positive attitude about moving here. If he did that, then everything would magically get better and he wouldn’t be so angry. Problem solved. Except that Tweek was angry. And scared. And uncertain of everything in his life at this point. That wasn’t going to fix itself, no matter how much his parents insisted on it.

  
“What do they know?” He hissed. “F—ff—fucking nothing!”

He felt trapped, sitting on a couch in this unfamiliar house, staring at the TV while his parents were gone, probably talking about how to make everything go back to normal. Suddenly, he just couldn’t stand it anymore. With his thermos tucked under his arm, he went back out into the rain. He didn’t care about getting soaked to the bone or getting sick. He just wanted to get away. So Tweek ran.

~

Tweek’s feet were sore, like he’d been running for ages, even though he knew it had only been a few minutes. He was out of breath, panting heavily, so he stopped at a nearby tree. It helped a little to be out of the rain anyways, since the tree branches were so thick it was like a makeshift roof over his head. He dropped the thermos on the ground before pressing his hands against the tree trunk, taking slow, steady breath to calm himself. Honestly, this whole day just sucked. He wished he wasn’t here. He wanted to be back at his old house, in the tire swing with the sun on his face. He wanted to remember what it was like to be happy. He wanted…

Someone was breathing down his neck.

Tweek’s whole body instantly tensed up, blood freezing like ice in his veins. _‘Oh god. I’m all alone out here. I don’t want to die!’_ His thermos was down at his feet. Maybe if he was able to reach it then he could defend himself. He was so scared. Slowly, he inched his hand down the tree trunk, trying to get into position. The breathing continued but no one said anything. _‘Are they just trying to mess with me before they kill me? Oh Jesus!'_

Finally, his hand was down by his waist. He couldn’t bear to wait another second. In one sweeping motion, he lunged for his thermos and swung it out like a club, hoping to get at least one hit in. But there was nothing there. His eyes darted from side to side, searching the trees around him for a sign of another person. He was so certain that someone was standing behind him. He could still feel that warm breath on his neck and it made his skin crawl.

  
“Oh god. I’m going c—crazy, aren’t I?” He breathed, tangling his fingers in his wet, blonde hair, watching as water droplets dripped onto the ground. Then he realized that it wasn’t just water droplets. He was crying. With a sob, he asked the air, “What the fuck is wrong with me?”

  
His voice echoed in the forest, reminding him just how alone he was. The rain kept falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I need you with me as I enter the shadows."
> 
> Love, Holly.


	2. Mystery of You

The new kid—Tweek—sat in the back of Craig’s history class on Monday morning, clearly because he didn’t want to be noticed. Unfortunately for him, Mr. Garrison liked to acknowledge every new person in his classroom. This was a rare occasion, because he was used to the same faces he had known since he started teaching them in the fourth grade. Craig didn’t know why Mr. Garrison had followed all of them up to high school. Maybe he was just a glutton for punishment? More than likely, the school district had given him some incentive to stick with them, since it was hard to find teachers that could put up with Cartman.

Craig absently remembered the substitute teacher that came in last semester when Mr. Garrison was sick. She had a mental breakdown halfway through the second day, running out of the classroom crying when Cartman finally broke her. He could still remember her screaming about the raccoons.

“Okay children,” Mr. Garrison said, trying to get everyone’s attention. “Eyes up front.”

No one listened. Craig continued to stare out of the corner of his eye at the blonde boy, watching him curiously. Tweek’s eyes were focused on the top of his desk, his hands wrapped tightly around his silver thermos. _‘I think he brings that with him everywhere he goes. Almost like a safety net.’_ He dismissed this thought with some annoyance. He was not going to start reading the new kid.

Everyone was still chatting loudly in the classroom. Craig knew Mr. Garrison must be getting annoyed. Then the older man snapped, saying in an exasperated voice, “For the love of God, will all of you shut the hell up?”

Immediately, the class quieted down, except for the back of the class where a panicked voice shrieked, “Jesus Christ!”

All his classmates turned in their seats to stare at the blonde boy, who was shaking uncontrollably. Mr. Garrison, after many years of teaching in South Park, elected to ignore this outburst and continued, saying, “Now that you all decided to shut your pieholes, we have a new student in our class.” He gestured to Tweek, and said, “Why don’t you introduce yourself?”

Tweek’s eyes widened, a look of terror on his face, and Craig felt a small amount of sympathy for him. The blonde boy squawked, “What?!”

Mr. Garrison repeated himself with a sigh. “Introduce yourself.”

Tweek moved his hands from the thermos, yanking on his hair. He didn’t say anything, he just shrieked again. Mr. Garrison obviously realized that he wasn’t going to get anything out of him, so he said, “That’s Tweek. He’s new. We’re moving on now.”

Slowly, everyone started turning around towards the front of the room, focusing their attention on their grumpy, old teacher. From the middle of the room, Craig heard Cartman snigger, “I didn’t realize we were taking special ed kids in our class now.”

Craig’s face didn’t betray anything, but he was annoyed by that comment. _‘Who the fuck is Cartman to talk about people having problems anyways?’_

Mr. Garrison glanced over at him with an annoyed expression on his face. “Eric, what did I say last week? What are the rules?” He didn’t wait for anyone to answer him, which was smart. Mr. Garrison knew his audience. “The rules are: no talking, you’ve got to raise your hand first.”

With a suspiciously innocent look on his face, Cartman raised his hand.

Mr. Garrison sighed. “Yes Eric.”

“Are we taking special ed kids in our class now, Mr. Garrison?”

“No, they’re in separate classes from you and you already know that.” Mr. Garrison said, rubbing his fingers against his forehead. This wasn’t the first time that Cartman had asked this question.

Still looking innocent, Cartman asked, pointing a finger in Tweek’s direction, “So what the hell’s his problem then?”

Tweek had his face down on his desk at this point, quietly shrieking.

The older man looked so over this day already. “Eric, would you let me teach at some point today? I’m not getting any younger.”

“Oh of course Mr. Garrison. Please, go ahead.” Cartman replied in a simpering tone.

Mr. Garrison started to say something, before Cartman interrupted, pretending to cough as he called out, “Spaz!”

A couple of people chuckled at the comment, but Craig found himself wanting to punch Cartman in the face. _‘Fuck him. Where the hell does he get off? Fucking asshole.’_

Mr. Garrison kept muttering something over and over again that sounded suspiciously like retirement bonus. Craig dared a glance over in Tweek’s direction. The boy’s face was still on his desk. Craig wanted to say something. He wanted to shut Cartman up. But he just didn’t have the words.

~

Tweek spent his lunch hour hiding in an empty classroom. He should have been in the cafeteria, but he couldn’t bear the thought of everyone staring at him. Just his outburst in history class this morning was enough to make him want to run in shame. He knew there was something wrong with him. Everyone staring at him like he was a freak just made it worse.

“But I am a freak.” He murmured miserably, staring down at the half-finished lunch on the desk in front of him.

Even before his family moved here, Tweek was a social pariah. But at least he had one friend then. Until he didn’t.

“N—nn—no.” He stuttered, getting frustrated with his inability to even talk normally. “I don’t w—wanna think about that.”

He didn’t want to think about anything. He wanted to get through this stupid school day so he could go home and hide in his room. At least there was no one to judge him when he was alone. Right now, even his peanut butter and jelly sandwich looked like it was judging him. He imagined it growing eyes and a mouth, nagging at him in his Mom’s voice, “You’ll end up dying if you don’t eat something! Do you want to die, Tweek? No? Then eat me!”

He cringed. _‘What the hell is wrong with me?’_

“How come you’re eatin’ in here all by yourself?”

Tweek glanced up from his food to see a boy with short, blonde hair standing in the classroom doorway. He kind of recognized him from history class earlier today. Great.

“If you’re to m—mm—make fun of me…” He started to say.

The boy’s blue eyes widened. “Oh no, I’m not! I was just walkin’ to my locker and I saw you sittin’ there.”

Tweek relaxed a little, but was still wary. Anyone who seemed even remotely nice was still a threat to him in his mind.

“So why are yah in here?” The blonde boy pressed him.

He shrugged. “Just b—because.”

“Oh, well okay! As long as you’re havin’ fun!” The boy replied, giving him a bright smile.

Tweek replied flatly, “Yeah. Fun.”

“Well it was nice talkin’ to yah! I gotta get to my locker!” The blonde boy said, before he walked off.

Tweek’s eyes began to drift down to his sandwich again but then the blonde re-appeared in the doorway. Tweek gave him a confused look. The blonde said brightly, “I’m Butters bytheway! It’s nice to meet yah!”

Tweek started to say, “Nice to meet you too”, but then Butters was gone again. He sighed.

_‘At least he didn’t make fun of me.’_

The voice in his head laughed at him. _‘Not to your face.’_

Tweek wrapped his fingers in his hair, yanking on it to feel some semblance of control. He hated that stupid voice in his head. It would tell him things—horrible, mean things about himself—and he tried his best not to listen, but he still believed them. He couldn’t deny what it said. Everything the voice said about him was true and he knew it.

~

Craig was trying his damnedest to not look at Tweek. But he couldn’t help it. The blonde boy sat at the desk directly catty corner to his, which made it impossible not to notice him. Especially when he kept twitching and making random, odd noises. They were in biology class and Craig was really good at the subject, so he felt justified in not paying close attention today.

“Dude. I don’t even know what Mrs. Heine is talking about.” Clyde whispered to Craig.

Craig replied absently, eyes still pointed in Tweek’s direction, “Try taking notes then.”

With a whine, he said, “But it’s so boring.”

Craig rolled his eyes. His friend was never one to take a shine to school or homework—he was more at home when it came to recess or playing video games. But Clyde had really taken to Dungeons and Dragons, learning every aspect of the game that he could. He soaked up information about the game like a sponge, so Craig knew it was possible for him to do well in school. He just needed to approach it in a way that made sense to him.

“So who can tell me the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?” Mrs. Heine asked, shaking Craig out of his thoughts. He watched his teacher’s eyes flit over the classroom, searching for someone to answer her question. Her gaze briefly landed on him, which made sense since she knew he would know the answer. But then she moved, setting her sights on Tweek.

 _‘Oh god.’_ Craig thought. _‘This is not going to end well.’_

“Mr. Tweak, since you’re new in this class, I’d love to hear your current knowledge of biology.”

Tweek’s voice cracked as he said, “Wha—what?”

Mrs. Heine asked again, “Do you know the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?”

Craig watched with horrified fascination as Tweek’s eyes got wider. He looked like he was going to have a heart attack. Then suddenly, Tweek gave a loud shriek and darted out of the classroom, knocking over his chair in the process with a loud crash. Mrs. Heine was so stunned that she didn’t even bother to stop him. Once the door slammed behind him, Craig finally realized what had happened. The whole class was staring at the front of the room, looking various shades of confused, surprised and weirded out.

“Holy shit.” Clyde breathed. Without thinking, Craig got up from his seat and picked up Tweek’s coffee thermos, before walking towards the classroom door.

“Craig, where are you going?” Mrs. Heine asked, still sounding bewildered.

“I’ll be back.”

Craig didn’t bother to explain where he was going. He just left the classroom, trying to decide where Tweek would have gone. They were in the science wing of the high school, which meant that one of the outside doors was just right there. If Tweek had gone anywhere to get away, Craig could only think that it would be out. Once he stepped through the glass door, the chilly October air hit him and he was thankful for his coat.

_‘If I were Tweek, where would I have gone?’_

Then he heard muffled, distressed sounds to his left and knew exactly where Tweek went. When he rounded the corner, the blonde boy was tucked into one of the alcoves, with his arms wrapped around his chest like some sort of protective shield. He couldn’t help but feel a little bad for him.

Craig said quietly, trying not to startle him, “Tweek?”

Tweek shrieked anyways, shifting away from Craig with wide eyes.

With a sigh, Craig said, “I brought your thermos.” Then he held it out to him, hoping Tweek would understand that it was a peace offering of sorts.

Tweek stared at him for a moment. Craig could see that he was weighing the odds of this being a trick. So he said, “Dude, it’s just a thermos.”

Then Tweek said, “Ack! Okay. Okay okay okay.” Then he snatched the thermos out of Craig’s hands, hurrying to pop the top off.

Craig watched him take a long drink of coffee, noting how he visibly relaxed when he did so. Even if his hands were still shaking, he at least looked calmer than before. _‘No wonder he went out in the rain for that. It really is his safety net.’_

Tweek murmured, “Thank you.”

Craig was surprised but didn’t show it on his face. He just nodded.

“This whole day s—ssss—sucks.” Tweek said.

“First days usually do.” Craig replied, trying to sound casual about it. The fact that Tweek was actually talking to him was beyond what he had expected. He did not want to call attention to it and ruin the moment.

Tweek gave a bitter laugh, which took Craig by surprise. He thought Tweek was all nerves and sheer panic. But the way he laughed told him so much more. Immediately, Craig clamped down on his empathic side that was trying to break through. He didn’t want to know. Nothing good would come from him knowing more about the blonde boy.

“You should go b—bb—back inside.” Tweek told him.

Craig eyed him, his face a blank mask. “You sure?”

Tweek replied with an emotionless voice, one that Craig could almost be envious of, “You don’t want people to s—see you around the s—ss—spaz.”

For some reason that he didn’t understand, Craig found himself saying, “Fuck them.”

The blonde boy looked at him closely, like he was trying to figure something out. Craig’s face warmed at his attention. He didn’t know what had come over him just now. But he knew he had to say it. Craig said flatly, “I am going inside though.”

Tweek nodded. “O—okay.”

Without saying another word, Craig turned and walked back towards the doors to the science wing. He could feel Tweek’s eyes on his back as he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Somewhere I will see all you kept deep inside, in the mystery of you."
> 
> So proud of myself. I managed to tear myself away from Divinity: Original Sin 2 long enough to write a new chapter. I hope all of you enjoy it!
> 
> Love, Holly.


	3. A Mirror Darkly

From Tweek’s bedroom window, he could see the house across the way. Specifically, into the room where the neighbor boy lived. Based off school today, he knew his name was Craig. Tweek also knew that he didn’t understand him. Craig didn’t know him at all, so why did he bother to come find him after his outburst in Biology? And why did he bring him his thermos? At first, he thought it was a trick. But Craig was alone and his coffee didn’t taste like someone had messed with it. Plus, Craig even tried to make him feel better.

“So it couldn’t have been a trick.” He murmured. “But, what was it then?”

He watched as the light flicked on in Craig’s room, illuminating everything as the dark-haired boy walked in. Craig sat down on his bed, staring down at his feet. Tweek wondered what he was thinking about.

“Not letting your guard down, are you?”

Tweek tensed up, slowly turning to look at the mirror on his closet door. He could see his reflection standing there, but he knew it wasn’t him. It was darker somehow and fuzzy at the edges. His reflection smirked maliciously at him, like it knew something he didn’t.

The reflection’s smirk grew wider as it answered his thought. “That’s because I do.”

Tweek hissed, “Get out of my head!”

“How can I get out of your head when I’m you?” His reflection grinned.

“You’re not me. You’re not!” Tweek snarled at his reflection, yanking at his hair like it might give him some semblance of control.

His mirror reflection laughed, pressing its hand against the glass that separated him from Tweek’s world. “Maybe I could be. Did you ever think about that?”

“N—n—no.” Tweek stammered, eyeing the mirror with alarm. _‘What do I do if it can get through the mirror? Do I run? Oh my god.’_  

His reflection chuckled at him, running its fingers lovingly across the glass. “Oh don’t worry, little Tweek. I’m not strong enough for that…” It flashed a wolfish grin. “Yet.”

Tweek’s stomach turned. He covered his eyes, refusing to look at the mirror. “You’re n—not real. You’re n—nn—not r—real.”

It laughed again, which was somehow infinitely more terrifying when he couldn’t see it. “I’m still here even if you close your eyes.”

Tweek said again, insistently, “N—not real.”

His reflection said with an amused tone, “Look at me.”

Tweek shook his head. He couldn’t bring himself to look at his reflection again. Who knew what he would see if he did.

Suddenly, his reflection no longer sounded amused. It roared angrily at him, “LOOK AT ME!”

Tweek jerked in fear, still keeping his eyes covered. He turned away from the mirror, facing his window instead. He was terrified and had no earthly idea what he should do.

His reflection’s voice was calm now, whispering in a menacing tone, “If you won’t look at me, then look at him.”

Tweek couldn’t help it. He felt the irresistible urge to look. Slowly removing his hands, he stared across the distance from his window into Craig’s room. With wide eyes, he watched as Craig pulled his shirt over his head, letting it drop to the floor. He scrubbed his fingers through his dark, shaggy hair, like he was stressed about something. Tweek didn’t want to look now. He knew he shouldn’t be looking at Craig—not like this. But he couldn’t stop himself.

“You know why, don’t you?” His reflection whispered, voice dripping with dark meaning.

Tweek shook his head, saying, “N—no. Stop it.”

“Say it.”

“No.” Tweek said, voice getting stronger, more insistent.

His reflection snarled, “Say it!”

Finally, Tweek screamed, “NO!”

He grabbed the nearest thing he could find and chucked it hard at the mirror. The glass shattered to bits, shards falling to the ground in a clatter, along with the book he had thrown.

“Tweek?” His mother said from outside the room, knocking on his door. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine!” He snapped. “Just leave me alone!”

She replied with a bright voice, like he hadn’t just yelled at her, “Okay, honey!”

He heard the floor creak as she walked away, leaving him alone with his thoughts again. His hands were shaking. He dared a brief glance at the mirror, but nothing had changed. It was still broken. His reflection was distorted by the smashed glass but he could see it was him. His reflection was his own. This thought should have been comforting, but instead Tweek wanted to cry. He kept holding onto the smallest hope that things would be different when they moved here.

 _‘I’m so goddamn naive.’_ He thought bitterly. _‘Of course things aren’t different. I’m still me. Still fucked up, stupid me.’_

Tweek turned to close the curtains and froze where he stood. Craig was watching him from his bedroom window.

_‘Oh god. How long has he been watching me?’_

He bit his lip hard, trying to control his panic. Then he watched as Craig raised his hand, waving slightly at him. His expression didn’t change. He was still watching him. Tweek didn’t wave back. _‘I’m not doing this again. I can’t.’_

Tweek didn’t think twice. He closed the curtain over the window, heart beating wildly in his chest.

~

Later that night, Craig ventured one more glance out his bedroom window, but Tweek’s curtain was still drawn. He didn’t understand what he’d done wrong. He brought Tweek his thermos this morning and he thought that he’d made a tenuous connection with him. But apparently not if Tweek couldn’t even look at him.

Craig’s phone buzzed. He reached over to his bedside table, glancing at the message.

_Donovan: Dude! I’m so excited for game this week. I think we’re gonna level up—it’s gonna be awesome!_

Craig rolled his eyes good-naturedly. Sometimes, Clyde could be a little much. No matter what he did, he was always excited about it and it was “the best thing he’d ever done or experienced.” That was why Craig couldn’t really trust his opinion on things. How could you believe something was amazing when Clyde thought everything was amazing?

_Yeah probably, depending on if we get into a fight or something._

_Donovan: Dude, we totally will! Why else would Token have us meet that hooker?_

_They didn’t call them hookers in Victorian England, just FYI. And I was the one who met her, remember? She wouldn’t talk to any of you._

_Donovan: Which was so lame! Why are you the only girl in our party?_

_Because you and Jimmy don’t think ahead. That’s why._

_Donovan: Laaaaaaame. What kind of hooker doesn’t talk to dudes? That doesn’t make any sense!_

Craig wryly smiled at that comment. _Women are a mystery._

_Donovan: No kidding!!!_

Finally, Clyde stopped texting him so Craig assumed that he’d fallen asleep. That didn’t sound like a bad idea to him actually. Craig pulled one of his comfy hoodies over his head, before curling up under his covers. He was happy to finally be able to turn his brain off, if only for a little while. Within five minutes, Craig was sound asleep.

~

When Craig opened his eyes, it was dark in his room. He picked up his phone, staring at the time with bleary eyes. 3 AM. Why was he awake? Normally, he slept through the night without waking up. So what was going on? He listened quietly, trying to hear if his Mom or Ruby were moving around. But his house was silent. Still unsure about why he was awake, Craig climbed out of bed, deciding to go downstairs for a glass of water.

He had to walk carefully down the stairs so they didn’t squeak. The last thing he wanted to do was wake up his Mom when she was getting some actual rest. Once he was downstairs, he crept his way into the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets for a glass. It was then that he happened to glance out the kitchen window.

“What the hell?” Tweek was outside, standing in the gap between their houses, one hand gripping a blanket that was mostly on the ground. Craig stared at him with wide, confused eyes. Then he realized that the blonde boy’s eyes were closed. “Sleepwalking.” He murmured to himself.

His goal of getting a glass of water was completely forgotten as he made his way outside, unlatching the back gate to let himself out. Tweek still stood there, facing Craig’s house but not moving. Craig said hesitantly, “Tweek?”

“Who’s that?” Tweek replied in a groggy voice, eyes still closed.

“It’s Craig—from next door.” Craig watched the blonde boy closely, trying to decided what to do next. He was surprised that Tweek wasn’t stuttering.

Tweek’s eyebrows furrowed. He asked, confused, “Why are you in my room?”

Craig remembered reading somewhere that it was okay to wake up sleepwalkers. It was okay because the idea of them being dangerous was just a myth. So he figured it was safe to say, “We’re not in your room. You’re standing outside.”

Suddenly, Tweek’s voice lowered to a whisper. “You shouldn’t be in here. It’ll see you.” Now it was Craig’s turn to be confused. “What will see me?”

Tweek slowly turned his head to the right, like he was looking at something. “I don’t know.”

Craig started to say, “Tweek, what are you— “

Then Tweek whimpered. Craig didn’t know what to do. The blonde boy looked so small, holding onto the blanket like it was his anchor. Tweek said in a quiet voice, “I want to go home.”

Craig reached out, trying to gently touch Tweek’s shoulder, thinking, _‘Maybe he’ll wake up.’_

“But you are home. Your house is right behind you.”

Tweek’s expression suddenly changed. He wasn’t confused or scared anymore. He was angry. Before Craig knew what was happening, Tweek grabbed onto his wrist with a vice grip and snarled, “This isn’t home!”

Clearly, Tweek wasn’t going to wake up on his own. Craig reached for Tweek’s other arm, aiming to shake him awake. But Tweek beat him to it, hand clenching around Craig’s other wrist. He hissed, “I want to go home!”

Craig was starting to get scared. So he said forcefully, “Wake up! Tweek, you’re dreaming! Wake up!”

The anger on Tweek’s face melted away. He said in a small, confused voice, “What?”

“Wake up!” Craig insisted. Tweek’s eyes opened. He stared at Craig with disoriented, green eyes, like he was trying to piece this moment together. Then, Craig watched as Tweek noticed his hands wrapped tightly around Craig’s wrists. Tweek squeaked, immediately letting go, “OHMYGOD. I’m so s—ss—sorry!”

Craig’s wrists hurt so he rubbed them a little bit as he said, “It’s fine.” He noticed that once Tweek woke up, he was back to stuttering again. He wondered why that was.

“Are you k—kidding? I could have really hurt you!” Tweek sputtered, his whole face contorted in panic.

“But you didn’t.” Craig replied evenly. He decided to stop rubbing his wrists, if only to calm the blonde boy down. “So it’s fine.”

Tweek’s fingers snaked into his hair, tugging hard. He muttered, more to himself than to Craig. “Why does this keep happening?”

“Do you sleepwalk a lot?” Craig asked, curious despite himself.

Tweek looked at him and Craig knew he was trying to decide whether to tell him or not. But then he nodded. “Yeah. I was hoping it would s—ss—stop when we moved here.” He sighed. “Guess not.”

Craig glanced down, suddenly remembering that Tweek was just wearing a thin shirt and pajama pants. “Hey, maybe you should go inside. It’s cold out here.”

The moment he said that, Tweek shivered, wrapping his arms around his chest. Before Craig had time to think about it, he bent down to pick up Tweek’s blanket that had somehow been dropped in the confusion. When he stood back up, holding the blanket out to the smaller boy, he froze at the look on his face. He could see the timid desire the blonde felt to open up to him. He could also see that he was fighting that desire. All Craig could do was watch, fascinated by the internal battle that Tweek had raging inside him. Finally, the blonde boy seemed to settle his struggle and said, “Yeah, m—maybe I should go inside.” He looked guilty when he continued with, “I’m sorry for scaring you.”

Craig shrugged. “It’s fine, really. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

He was surprised to see a slight, red tinge spread over Tweek’s face. The blonde boy squeaked out, “B—bb—bye!” Then darted off towards his back porch, holding his blanket in a ball against his chest. Craig watched, making sure that Tweek went inside before he made his way home. He hoped he could get back to sleep.

~

Tweek peered around the corner of the kitchen door, watching as Craig walked to his back yard, closing the gate behind him. Once he was out of sight, Tweek leaned against the wall and allowed himself a moment to breathe. He was terrified about the fact that Craig caught him sleepwalking. _‘I could have really hurt him. I didn’t even know what I was doing.’_

“Figures. The one person who’s even tried to be nice to me and I do s—something like that.” Tweek groaned, snaking his fingers into his hair before tugging on it. “He probably thinks I’m a total freak.”

 _‘It’s not like his opinion matters to you, right?’_ The voice in his head replied knowingly.

“S—ss—shut up.” Tweek said, wrapping his blanket around him, unconsciously trying to shield himself.

The voice sniggered. _‘Poor little spaz. Can’t keep it together.’_

Tweek elected to ignore the voice, slowly walking up the stairs towards his bedroom. Part of him wanted to fall asleep on the couch, just to avoid the mirror on his closet door, but then his parents would ask him why he wasn’t sleeping in his room. And he really didn’t want to talk about that with them. So when he entered his room, he found a random blanket and covered the mirror with it, eyes averted as he did so.

“There. Problem solved.” He said, allowing himself a momentary feeling of satisfaction.

At first, he was headed back to his bed but on the way there, he passed his window. On a random whim, he pulled the curtain back. Craig’s bedroom window was dark, but he could still see a small nightlight in the room. Tweek wondered if Craig was able to fall back asleep already.

 _‘I wonder why he was awake in the first place?’_ Tweek mused to himself.

A traitorous thought flitted through his mind, reminding him of the way Craig had looked at him with those intense, probing eyes. Tweek felt vulnerable when Craig looked at him, like he could see more than Tweek realized. He didn’t like feeling like he was an open book to anyone, but part of him wanted to open up to Craig. He wanted to tell Craig about all the weird shit that happened in his life, just so he would understand why he was like this. This terrified him.

He had never wanted to tell anyone about his messed up life or his messed up head before. So why was Craig so different?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "For now we see in a mirror darkly, but then face to face."
> 
> I hope you enjoyed. 
> 
> Love, Holly.


	4. I Am Only One

When Craig got home from school Friday, he was intently focused on raiding the fridge as soon as humanly possible. Maybe he was being a walking stereotype for teenage boys everywhere, but he didn’t care. All he knew was that he was starving. Especially because it was mystery meatloaf day in the school cafeteria. There was no way in hell he was putting that shit in his body. He would rather go without lunch than eat that. Which is exactly what he did. But now, as a result, he was ravenous and hunting down his leftover pizza rolls in the fridge was all that mattered.

The moment he found the container in the back of the fridge, he immediately popped off the top and ate a few of them cold. Maybe he was a monster for doing that, but his stomach was in charge and there was no arguing. He dumped the rest of the pizza rolls onto a plate and stuck them in the microwave, before taking a large swig of orange juice from the carton. His Mom hated that he did that, which is why he only did it when he was home alone.

A blinking, red light on the answering machine caught his eye. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and rolled his eyes, saying to himself, “Why do we even still have a house phone? No one calls but stupid telemarketers.” He grabbed his food out of the microwave, before hitting the play button on the answering machine. As he popped a pizza roll in his mouth, he heard a voice that stopped his blood cold.

“Hi Craig. It’s your Father.”

He froze up. He couldn’t help it. He knew he needed to stop the message, but he couldn’t get his body up out of the chair.

“It took me a while to find you all’s new number. Guess your Mom really wanted to stay off the grid, huh?” There was a forced chuckle next. Then, “Look, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry I haven’t been around. I know it’s been…I guess it’s been years at this point. But your Mom and I both agreed that this was best for both of you kids. I just didn’t want you to think I’d forgotten about you. I haven’t. I think about you—about both of you every day.”

Craig felt cold. So cold. He needed a blanket. Something to get him warm. He stumbled out of the kitchen like a drunk man, eyes searching for something to fix on. A point in the distance to keep his attention. He could still hear the voice coming out of the answering machine, but his mind wasn’t registering words. Before he knew it, he found himself walking down the sidewalk outside of his house, heading towards nowhere in particular. There were trees around him now. Maybe no one could see him. He sat down, huddled up next to one of the trees, imagining its branches enveloping him, hiding him in their embrace.

~

Tweek was so happy to put this school week behind him. He knew he had to do it all over again next week, but at least he had a weekend’s reprieve. He could pretend that he never had to go back to school. Never had to see his classmates staring at him again. Never had to strain under the weight of keeping his panic and fear from escaping into the world. It was easier to pretend than it was to face the reality of his situation.

As he slowly approached his house, Tweek found that he didn’t want to go inside. Who could blame him? When you had to go home to parents who pretended that everything was fine, even if the world was falling apart, you tended to stay away as long as you could. So he ignored the way his mind tugged at him, trying to lead him up the stairs to his house. Instead, he kept walking, letting his feet guide the way towards the woods at the edge of his street. Despite his last experience in the woods, Tweek still found himself at home here. More at home than he was in his actual home with his family.

It was peaceful. He didn’t feel so caught up in his own head when he was surrounded by nature. He liked having a break from being stressed out and anxious all the time.

“C—Craig?” Tweek found himself saying as he stared at the boy in the blue hat, who was shivering underneath a tree up ahead.

Craig didn’t look at him. He just kept shivering. Tweek slowly got closer to Craig, trying to figure out why he was sitting out here in the cold. “Why aren’t you wearing a jacket?” He asked him, noting the boy’s bare arms.

Still no response. Tweek wondered how long Craig had been out here. Part of him was terrified right now. He wanted to run back the direction he came just to avoid talking to Craig at all. But one look at the other boy’s face and Tweek knew he couldn’t do that. Craig needed help. At the very least, he could look at it like he was paying back Craig’s kindness to him earlier this week. With that in mind, Tweek sat down next to Craig, trying to share some of his body heat.

Tweek hoped this was okay. He hoped he wasn’t crossing a line with Craig. He really hoped Craig wouldn’t suddenly come to his senses and punch him in the face.

“Did you have a shitty day too?” Tweek asked Craig, trying to get him talking.

Craig just kept shivering. So Tweek gathered his courage and huddled closer to the boy, his arm pressed against him. Craig didn’t even seem to notice. Tweek was starting to get worried.

“I wish I didn’t have to go to school. I hate it there.” Tweek said, starting to ramble. He was willing to try anything to get Craig talking again, even if he didn’t understand why. “It feels like everyone’s s—s—staring at me all the time. And it just makes me want to s—sc—scream.”

Craig didn’t say anything, but to Tweek’s surprise, he laid his head on his shoulder. It helped Tweek’s panic subside just a little, knowing that Craig was at least aware he was there. Though, the way Craig’s dark hair settled against his skin was making his stomach to do flip-flops.

“Thank you for what you did before. You know, with my thermos. Nobody ever runs after me when I f—f—freak out.” Tweek said, eyes focused away from Craig as a blush formed on his cheeks. He didn’t know why he was allowing himself to ramble. But it was all he could think to do to help.

“It’s like a fort.” Craig murmured.

“What?” Tweek said, startled, turning to look at him. He hadn’t expected Craig to speak.

“The trees. The way they grew—it’s like a fort.”

Tweek looked at the trees around them, noticing that they had grown together, branches overlapping to create a sort of canopy. Craig was right. It did remind him of a fort. “It is. I—I think I would have liked this as a kid. As a place to play.”

“Me too.” Craig agreed, his voice soft. “I don’t know why I never found this place before.”

“M—maybe it was supposed to find you instead.” Tweek said, instantly hating how cheesy that sounded. But Craig just nodded, staring off into the distance.

“Maybe.”

The two of them were quiet for a moment, just sitting beneath the tree together. Tweek was very aware that their arms were still touching. Craig seemed so calm, almost unemotional in a way, and it was a little unnerving to him. He wondered what Craig was thinking about right now.

“C—Craig?” He said, voice sounding shakier than normal, though he hoped the other boy wouldn’t notice.

“Yeah?” Craig replied, in a dispassionate tone of voice.

“Why are you sitting out here in the cold? You don’t even have a jacket on.”

There was a very pregnant pause. Tweek started to panic, thinking that Craig was going to get angry with him. He kept stuttering over his words, which was just stressing him out even more. “I—I’m s—ss—sorry. I s—ss—shouldn’t have asked.”

Finally, Craig responded, still sounding disinterested, but there was something there that Tweek could tell was different. “It’s fine. I just wanted to sit out here. That’s all.”

“O—oo—okay.” Tweek replied quickly, eager to end this topic of conversation.

“I’m gonna go home now.” Craig said suddenly, slipping away from Tweek as he got to his feet. Tweek couldn’t look at him. He was sure that he had done something to make Craig angry. _‘Of course you did.’_ The dark voice muttered in his head. _‘When could you ever do anything right?’_

Tweek’s face heated up. He hated feeling so stupid.

As Craig slowly started to walk away, he paused and turned back to look at Tweek. He said in his emotionless way, “I’m not mad at you.”

That was enough to make Tweek look up at Craig. The other boy was watching him with dark, knowing eyes and somehow, Tweek knew that Craig knew how he was feeling. It made him feel weird, realizing that Craig could see right through him.

“Y—you aren’t?”

Craig slowly shook his head, replying in that monotone voice, “No.”

“O—o—okay.” Tweek stammered, willing his face not to flush. He stared at the dark-haired boy, unsure of what he was supposed to do next.

“So?” Craig asked, looking at Tweek like he was supposed to being doing something.

Tweek was confused. “What?”

“Are you coming?”

Tweek didn’t know what to say. He just stared at Craig with a confused look on his face.

“It’s cold out here.” Craig said. He looked at Tweek intently. “You aren’t gonna stay out here, are you?”

“Umm, n—no, I guess n—not.” Tweek replied sheepishly, getting up from his spot on the ground. He didn’t really want Craig to know that he liked spending time out here. Because, inevitably, he was certain that Craig would ask him why he was outside in the cold, rather than inside his warm house. And he didn’t want to answer that question. So he followed after Craig instead.

~

It was a quiet walk out of the woods. Tweek wanted to break the silence somehow, because it was stifling him. He didn’t like being alone with his thoughts. But thankfully, Craig broke the silence for him.

“So you had a shitty day.” Craig said out of the blue.

Tweek was startled, but said, “Yeah.”

“It’s easier to make it through this place if you don’t care.”

“I don’t really k—know how to do that.” Tweek admitted.

Craig replied in a matter of fact tone of voice, “Just tell yourself that nothing matters. If nothing matters, then a shitty day won’t affect you.”

“Is that what you do?” Tweek asked him curiously.

Craig shrugged. “Try to. It’s easier now than it was when I was a kid.”

“W—what did you when you were a k—kid?” Tweek watched a small, mirthless smile slip onto Craig’s face.

“I’d beat people up.”

“N—not anymore?” Tweek asked, trying to sound less worried than he felt. _‘What if he has an anger problem? Oh god. I don’t want him to beat me up. Mom and Dad would freak if I got into trouble here. Oh god.’_

Craig glanced over at him. His face was blank once again, which didn’t surprise Tweek. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna beat you up.”

Tweek stiffened a little as he walked beside the taller boy. _‘How did he know?’_

“It takes a lot to make me mad now.” Craig continued.

“O—okay.” Tweek said, trying to tell himself to calm down. He wouldn’t think about how easy it was for Craig to read him. What mattered was that Craig wasn’t mad at him. There was no reason to worry. But he was so good at worrying. He couldn’t help himself. He could see his house coming up as they reached the edge of their neighborhood and his heart was already sinking into his stomach. Tweek started to trail behind Craig, feeling the urge to turn around and walk away from his house. Run, even. Anything to avoid his parents who desired perfection and normalcy above all else.

“Do you want coffee?’ Craig asked him suddenly, turning around to look at him.

“Coffee?” Tweek said, feeling dumb for repeating the other boy’s words. But he couldn’t help it. Craig was offering him coffee.

Craig nodded. “Yeah. Do you want some?”

Tweek jiggled his thermos around, feeling how close to empty it was. It couldn’t hurt to get it refilled, right? “S—s—sure.” He gave Craig a small, nervous smile. “Thanks.”

To his surprise, Craig gave him a ghost of a smile in return. “Yep.”

Then they walked straight past Tweek’s house and up the steps to Craig’s front porch. Tweek followed closely behind Craig as they walked in his house. The layout of all the houses in this neighborhood appeared to be the same, but Tweek didn’t really pay attention to that. Instead, he was looking at all the pictures on the walls. He saw Craig, an older woman and a younger girl with red hair. He guessed they were his Mom and sister. Another thing that Tweek was noticed was that Craig didn’t really smile in pictures either.

“Craig!” A woman cried.

Tweek yelped, staring with wide eyes at the blonde woman rushing at the two of them from the kitchen. Craig didn’t seem to be phased by her. “Hi Mom.”

“Craig, honey, are you…” Craig’s Mom glanced over at Tweek for a moment before her eyes flitted back to Craig, obviously noting that he wasn’t wearing a jacket. “Are you okay?”

“Fine. Why?” Craig replied flatly.

His Mom looked frazzled. “Because I came home and the front door was open. And I saw your phone on the table and the fridge was open and I just…” She wiped a shaky hand across her mouth. “I thought something had happened to you.”

Tweek glanced back and forth between Craig and his Mom. Craig looked so calm right now, like he didn’t have a care in the world. Then Tweek remembered what Craig said earlier. That it was easier to make it through this place if you didn’t care. Maybe Craig really meant it. Maybe he didn’t care at all.

“I’m fine, Mom.” Craig repeated again.

His Mom didn’t say anything for a moment. She just stared at him with this strangely blank expression. Finally, she said, “Okay honey.” But Tweek knew she didn’t believe him. Then she turned her gaze on Tweek and attempted to give him a polite smile. Tweek was trying not to panic at her attention. “Who’s your friend?”

Craig said, “Tweek. He just moved here. He lives next door.”

“Nice to meet you, Tweek.” She said.

“Y—y—you too.” Tweek stammered, very aware of the way she investigating him with her eyes.

“Do you boys want something to eat?” Craig’s Mom asked.

Craig spoke up and said, “No, I’m making coffee.”

“Coffee?” She repeated, clearly confused. “Craig, it’s nearly 4 in the afternoon. Coffee is more of a morning thing.”

“Actually,” Craig interjected. “The best time to drink coffee isn’t in the morning. It makes you dependent on caffeine instead of allowing your body to produce cortisol. You’re supposed to drink it between ten and noon and two to five in the afternoon.”

Tweek was surprised to see Craig’s Mom give him a fond smile. Immediately, he fought the stab of jealousy that rose up inside him. He couldn’t remember the last time either of his parents had looked at him that way.

“I suppose I can’t argue with science.” She said as she waved them towards the kitchen. “Just try not to drink too much. We’re having dinner soon.”

“Yep.” Craig replied, making his way into the kitchen. Tweek followed closely behind him, taking in every part of Craig’s house as they went. It was so foreign to him, seeing family photos everywhere, house plants drinking up sunlight in the windows, and books and papers stacked in random places. He thought that Craig’s house couldn’t be more perfect.

“It’s not usually like this.” Craig said, drawing Tweek’s attention to him. He realized that Craig was a little self-conscious about him being there.

Tweek smiled at Craig, hoping that might ease his discomfort “Are you k—kidding? I wish my house was like this.”

Craig eyed Tweek curiously. “What’s your house like?”

Tweek didn’t think it was appropriate to say it felt like a tomb. So instead he said, “It’s l—ll—like a hospital, you know? C—clean all the time. C—c—can’t have any messes. Feels like you can’t even l—live there. Not r—rr—really.”

“That sounds lame.” Craig replied in the toneless voice that Tweek was coming to associate with him.

“It is.” Tweek admitted.

Craig gestured towards the coffee pot. “So...coffee?”

“Y—y—yeah.” He watched as Craig started the process of making coffee for them. _‘What’s changed?’_ He thought. _‘Why am I okay with him now? I was scared of him earlier this week. Maybe I still am a little bit. I don’t know.’_

Craig’s dark hair slid into his eyes as he bent over the coffee pot, peering at the water line. Tweek couldn’t stop staring at him. Part of him was terrified to be here, standing in Craig’s kitchen with him. Tweek was so close that he could reach out and touch Craig if he wanted to. And the other part of him really wanted to do that. More than anything. And that terrified him too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Ever after never came and I'm still waiting for a life that never was. And all the dreams I lay to rest are ghosts that keep me. After all that I've become, I am only one."  
> \--I Am Only One, We Are the Fallen
> 
> Also, here's the link to the article where Craig got his information about the ideal times to drink coffee. I'm trying to adopt that idea myself, but it's rough going. Coffee and morning are intertwined in my brain. http://time.com/3903826/coffee-early-morning-worst-time/
> 
> Love, Holly.


	5. Misery Loves My Company

After he finally convinced his Mom that he really couldn’t eat any more pot roast, Craig was on his way to Token’s house. It was nearly six thirty and the sun was slowly sinking behind the horizon, leaving the sky a beautiful but eerie mix of dark blue and gold. Another chilly wind blew towards him and Craig shoved his hands in the pocket of his hoodie. Even though it was cold, he liked fall. The cool weather was a welcome change from the heat of summer.

He watched the wind chase leaves across the sidewalk, an absent expression covering his face. He thought about the D&D game and his character, an inquisitor named Samina. Clyde and Jimmy thought it was weird that he picked a girl to play and definitely gave him shit for it. But it ended up being better for their party that they had a girl. On one hand, Craig figured that Token was just making a point with all the scenarios they found themselves in. It was like he was specifically crafting situations that required a “woman’s touch” just to make Clyde and Jimmy eat their words. Which was fine with Craig. But on the other hand, however, it meant that Token was pushing Craig hard out of his comfort zone.

Like last game, for example. Their party discovered that someone possessing information they needed had been arrested. Once they arrived at the police station, they had to get past a cop in order to see the prisoner. Token made it no secret that the cop found Samina attractive. There were other (harder) ways to get to the prisoner, which Craig would have infinitely preferred. But Clyde and Jimmy insisted that Craig charm his way inside. Which is how Craig found himself awkwardly flirting with Token, who was playing the cop and trying his best not to smirk at him. He really hated his friends sometimes.

Despite that, Craig was looking forward to tonight’s game. He hoped they were going to get into a fight. Last game, he picked up a razor-rimmed hat for Samina and he was itching to use it. Craig would never admit it to Clyde, but he was having a lot of fun. He wished he had started playing the game a lot sooner. But again, he would never admit that to Clyde, because he wouldn’t hear the end of it if he did.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Begrudgingly, he pulled one hand out the warm cave that was his hoodie pocket and checked his phone.

_Donovan: Dude, would you hurry up? It’s gonna be fucking Halloween before we play at this point!!_

_Game starts at 6:30. Calm the fuck down._

_Donovan: Craaaaaaaaaaig_

_Donovan: Hurry_

_Donovan: Up_

_Donovan: You walk so slow. What are you, an old man?_

_Donovan: JK, I know you are_

Craig rolled his eyes before sending Clyde the middle finger emoji. Because Clyde intentionally (and unintentionally) annoyed him sometimes, Craig saw him more like a brother than a friend. Maybe that’s why he got under his skin so easily. Ruby was just as annoying but in a way that only sisters could be. He sent another text, this time to Token.

_Calm down the spastic wonder. I’m almost there._

_Token: Good. His Dad let him have soda before he came over here. Fair warning._

_Damn it._

As Craig slid his phone back into his pocket, he was overcome by a feeling of deep, profound misery. It was like he was wearing a ton of soaking wet clothes. He felt weighed down despite how hard he fought it. He’d never experienced an emotion as strong as this one before and it was taking all he had to stay upright.

“Fuck.” He hissed, arms wrapped tight around his chest. He was usually able to block emotions from other people. So why was this affecting him so strongly? He closed his eyes, focusing on building a mental wall. This was how he kept himself separate from other people. He would construct his wall, mental brick by brick, slowly forcing any foreign feelings out of his head. It took him longer than usual this time, but he managed to close his mind to the feeling, leaving him in his usual state of apathy.

_‘What the hell was that?’_ He thought. _‘Emotions don’t ever hit me that hard. So why is this so different?’_

He slowly stood back up, giving himself a moment to adjust. It was aggravating to have these episodes of emotion hit him out of nowhere. This one was especially invasive and he was not happy about it. He hoped it didn’t become a pattern or he was going to have a real problem on his hands. Then he glanced down at his phone and saw the time: 6:32. Right above the new string of texts from Clyde.

“Whatever.” Craig said in a cool voice. He was finally feeling normal again so he set off on his original path to Token’s house.

~

When Tweek walked through the back door, he was immediately on edge. His parents sat silently at the kitchen table, turning to stare at him as he walked inside. Tweek didn’t like this at all. They looked like monsters from a scary movie, turning so slowly and looking at him with those eerie expressions on their faces.

“Come sit with us, honey.” His Mom said in a pleasant voice, patting the open seat next to her.

“W—why?” Tweek asked. He was trying to think if he had done anything bad recently. Anything that would warrant both of his parents sitting here, staring at him, freaking him out.

His Dad replied, “Tweek, it’s not polite to back talk. Do what your Mother asked you to do. Sit.”

There was no arguing with his Dad. Tweek sat down in the seat and tried to make himself as small as possible. Their eyes were like lasers to him, piercing his skin.

“Now Tweek, we thought that moving here would be good for you. That you would start to get better.” His Mom began to say.

“I am b—better!” Tweek shrieked, terrified of where they were going with this. “I am!”

His Dad said with a pointed tone of voice, “Tweek, don’t interrupt your Mother. That’s not polite.” Tweek responded by snaking his fingers into his hair and yanking hard on it. He hated this. He hated having to sit here and act like a good, obedient child, while they dished out his fate like it was dinner. This was his life. HIS life. And he just wanted to get through it unseen and unscathed. Was that so much to ask?

“Tweek, honey. You aren’t getting better. It’s the same here as it was back home.” His Mother replied, her voice eerily pleasant. “Your school counselor called us today. He said you were having panic attacks in your classes this week.”

Tweek thought he was going to have a panic attack right now. The mention of home filled him with a mixture of longing and dread. He wanted to be there more than anything right now. After all, he never wanted to move away, but they didn’t have a choice. How could they stay after what happened? His parents cared about their reputation more than anything and all anyone could do was stare at them. They couldn’t handle that. But Tweek didn’t care. He could have dealt with all their judgmental looks if it meant he could stay.

His Dad snapped his fingers, drawing Tweek out of his memories and back into this horrible moment. “Tweek, listen to your Mother. It isn’t polite to not pay attention.”

Tweek wanted to scream.

“Honey, obviously we need you to get better. And if the change of scenery isn’t helping, then maybe something else will.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a card, sliding it in front of Tweek. She directed him towards it with her eyes. “Read it.”

Tweek glanced down at it and realized it was a business card. It read, ‘Dr. Fleur Dionis, Doctor of Psychiatry. Recently moved to South Park and seeking new clients. Appointment only.’ He gaped at his parents, his stomach knotting with dread. “You want to m—me to see a s—s—shrink?!

“It’ll be good for you, honey. You’re in your head way too much. It’s important for you to talk to someone who can help you.” His Mom said, her voice all syrupy sweet. She always sounded that way but it was worse when she wanted something.

Before he could help himself, Tweek sputtered out, “But w—what if they try to harvest my b—b—brains?!”

His parents didn’t say anything. They just stared at him for an uncomfortable length of time, glancing between each other. It looked like they were talking to each other without talking. He hated that. Why couldn’t they just talk out loud like normal people?

Finally, his Dad said, “Tweek, that kind of thinking is exactly why we’re stuck in this crummy, mountain town. You have to get yourself under control or you’re going to make everything bad again. Do you understand that?”

Tweek’s hands trembled in his lap as he fought the urge to yank at his hair again. He didn’t understand why but the thought of seeing a shrink scared him. He looked away from his Dad to his Mom and pleaded with her, “P—please don’t m—make me g—g—go.”

She replied in that pleasant, vapid voice, “It will be good for you, honey.”

“You know son, when I was your age we didn’t have shrinks. We just had to deal with our problems on our own. Like the next door neighbor kid. He was just standing in his front yard, minding his own business, when this car lost control and ran him over. Terrible thing. I think he lost an arm.”

“Wasn’t it both arms, dear?” His Mom interjected.

In a distracted voice, his Dad said, “Hmm? Oh yes, I believe it was both arms.”

His parents continued to prattle on about things that didn’t make any sense. Tweek laid his head on the kitchen table, trying to mentally go anywhere but here. Usually he could retreat into his own mind, conjuring up peaceful meadows where he could just sit and be alone. But not now. He hated it here in South Park, where everything was so foreign and scary and people wouldn’t stop staring. He hated his parents who never made any sense and didn’t truly see or understand him. And most of all, he hated himself.

Without bothering to finish their conversation with him, his parents left the kitchen, still talking total nonsense to each other. Tweek continued to sit in his chair, forehead pressed hard against the tablecloth. Angry tears formed at the corners of his eyes. He couldn’t help it. He was completely miserable.

~

The boys watched intently as Clyde shook his dice in his hands. His character, a rogue named Arthur, was in the middle of convincing someone to give them important information. Whatever Clyde rolled would decide whether the strange, old man would tell them what he knew or not. To no one’s surprise, Clyde had the highest level of persuasion in their group so they were constantly sending him in first to talk to people.

Clyde’s dice hit the table and Craig and Jimmy leaned forward to see the result.

“Eleven!” Clyde called out. All three of them looked to the head of the table where Token sat, halfway hidden behind his game master board.

Token slowly sat up, a small smirk on his face. “You know, for the life of me I just can’t seem to remember. If only there was a way to jog my memory.” Then Token held out his hand, still smirking.

Clyde rolled his eyes. “Oh my god.” Then he said, in his character voice, “Perhaps some gold would clear your mind?”

“You know, I think it just might.” Token replied wryly.

“I give him 10 gold.” Clyde said, taking his pencil to adjust his gold count. When Token didn’t respond, he looked back up at him.

Token said with meaning, “Surely you can’t put a price on such important information.”

Clyde huffed, saying with an exasperated voice, “Fiiiiiiiiine. I give him 50 gold.”

Token grinned. “He accepts your generous offer.”

Jimmy glanced over at Clyde, “That’s a lot of m—m—money! Sure you’re g—good for that?”

Clyde gave Jimmy a sly smile. “Don’t worry. When you’re a rogue, you’re always good for it.”

Jimmy laughed brightly, “Look at you! Getting that f—f—five finger discount!”

“Yep. You’re a regular D.B. Cooper.” Craig said in his neutral tone of voice.

“Yeah, no clue who that is!” Clyde replied, waving Craig off.

Craig shook his head. “You dishonor your ancestors.”

“Are you seriously quoting Mulan at me right now?”

“Oh I see. Now you suddenly understand my references.”

“It’s fucking Disney, Craig. Who wouldn’t understand that one?”

Jimmy said suddenly, “Ohhhhhhhh, that was Disney?”

“Damn it Jimmy! You’re supposed to be on my side!”

Token cleared his throat. “If you guys are done; I think you have business to take care of.”

Clyde finally settled down, going back to his conversation with Token. “So now that your memory has cleared, what can you tell me?”

“I’ve seen the man you’re looking for. He comes down here nearly every night.” Token replied in his character's voice. 

Clyde asked, “What does he do?”

Token shrugged. “Not sure. But I do know that he always goes over there.” Token switched to his game master voice and said, “He points to a shop, tucked into a dark corner of the docks. The sign above the door says, Madame Zostra.”

“Is that a fortune teller?” Clyde asked.

Token said in his character voice, “It sure is.” Then he smiled in a way that made Craig’s skin crawl. “Care to try your luck, lad?”

Clyde glanced between Craig and Jimmy. “I say we go in.”

Jimmy replied, in his best impression of a fearless fighter, “L—l—let’s do it!”

They both looked at Craig, waiting for his response.

He replied evenly, trying to channel his cautious character, “Alright. But we should be careful.”

Clyde grinned. “Sweet!”

Token said, “All of you walk towards the shop. It’s dark and deserted in this area. Arthur and Jack, neither of you are bothered by this place. Samina,” He looked over in Craig’s direction. “You feel uneasy and you don’t know why.”

“I’m rolling for perception.” Craig said, pulling out his dice. He wasn’t nearly as ceremonious with his dice as Clyde was. Two shakes and he spilled it onto the table. “Ten.” He called out.

Token said, “You hear faint whispers but you can’t make out where they’re coming from. They disappear before you can investigate further.”

“Damn it.”

“You’re really rolling for shit tonight.” Clyde commented.

Craig gave him a look. “You talk a lot a lot of shit for someone who’s out 50 gold.”

Before Clyde could respond, the door to the basement opened and Token’s Mom called down, “Clyde, I found that soda you were looking for!”

Clyde’s face lit up. “Sweet!” He bounded up the basement steps, nearly out the door before he turned to ask, “Do you guys want anything?”

Jimmy replied, “Root b—b—beer!”

“Got it!” Clyde said, before disappearing upstairs.

“I thought you said you hid the soda really well.” Craig gave Token an annoyed look.

Token shrugged. “Apparently my Mom found one of my hiding spots.”

Craig rolled his eyes and sighed. “God. Clyde is such a spaz.”

“Speaking of spazzes,” Jimmy began. “Anybody know what’s up with the n—n—n—new kid?”

Craig didn’t say anything. He wanted to hear what his friends had to say.

Token said, “Tweek right?”

Jimmy nodded, “Yeah. I don’t have a class with him, but Clyde said he f—f—freaked out in b—biology the other day.”

“I have one class with him.” Token offered. “He didn’t freak out but he talked to himself the whole time. Mrs. Lay didn’t know what to do.”

“You think he’s on d—d—drugs?”

“Probably just hyped up on coffee. He has that thermos with him all the time.” Token pointed out.

“D—does coffee make you paranoid like that?” Jimmy asked curiously.

“I have no clue.”

“I’m gonna Google it.” Jimmy said, pulling out his phone.

Token eyed Craig and asked, “So what do you think of the new kid?”

Token was smart. He could see things about people that they hadn’t told him. So Craig wasn’t about to let Token know anything. He liked keeping his business to himself. So he said, “I have a couple classes with him. Seems anxious, I guess.”

Jimmy, still on his phone, casually interjected with, “Clyde said that he ran out of b—biology class and you f—f—followed him.”

_‘Damn it, Jimmy. Seriously? Also, fuck you, Clyde.’_

Craig met Token’s discerning gaze with a blank expression. “Yeah. I brought him his thermos. So what?”

Token replied evenly, “Well that was nice of you.”

But Craig knew what Token was actually trying to say. _“Since when do you do things like that?”_ He could see it all over his friend’s face. To be perfectly honest, he still didn’t know why he brought Tweek his thermos. He didn’t know why he invited him over to his house either. Or why he offered to make him coffee. Because Token was right: he doesn’t do things like that. But for some reason, it felt different with Tweek.

“I f—found something!” Jimmy exclaimed, drawing Token and Craig’s attention away from each other. “A new s—s—study has found that high caffeine use, combined with s—stress, can cause people to exhibit psy—psychotic symptoms s—such as hallucinations and de—delusions.”

“That makes sense. Moving to a new place can be stressful.” Token nodded, clearly processing the information.

“What are we talking about?” Clyde asked as he walked downstairs, clutching bottles of soda in both hands.

“N—new kid!” Jimmy told him.

Clyde plopped into his seat, sliding a bottle of root beer in Jimmy’s direction. “Oooooo what did he do this time?” He twisted the cap off his Mountain Dew with an expectant look.

“Nothing at the moment.” Token replied, turning his attention to some papers behind his game master board.

“Boooooo.” Clyde said, before taking a swig of his drink. “He hasn’t done anything crazy since he ran out of class this week. Him freaking out is way more interesting than biology.”

“Well, if this article is c—c—cor—corr—is right, with all that coffee he drinks, he’s gonna do something c—c—crazy eventually.” Jimmy told him matter of factly.

A pleased smile slid onto Clyde’s face. “Cool.” Then he asked, “What article?"

“Can we get back to the game already?” Craig asked, starting to get annoyed with this conversation. Token glanced over in his direction but Craig decided to ignore him. _‘Let Token think what he wants. I don’t care.’_

Clyde waved Craig off. “Fine, fine.” Then he picked up his pencil and brandished it at Token like a sword, saying dramatically, “Tell us the story, Game Master!”

Token smiled wryly. “Alright, but you aren’t gonna like it.”

“What—why?” Clyde looked confused, dropping his pencil slightly.

“Because you’re going to die.”

Clyde gave a short laugh, smiling gleefully at Token. “Ha! We’ll see about that. I’m the thief! If anyone’s taking my life, it’s me!” He paused for a moment, frowning. “That came out wrong but you know what I mean!”

No one could help but laugh at that. Not even Craig. As he did, he looked around the room, taking in his friends. Token, looking mischievous as he set the scene of their encounter. Clyde, way too excited and eager to see what came next. And Jimmy, still laughing about Clyde’s previous comment. Craig didn’t care about much in his life, but the three of them? Well, they were alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Down the darkest road  
> Something follows me  
> I am not alone  
> This misery loves my company."  
> \--Misery Loves My Company, Three Days Grace
> 
> Here's the link to the article Jimmy found: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-06-21/high-caffeine-use-linked-to-psychotic-symptoms/2766144  
> Also, for those who don't know who D.B. Cooper is: https://youtu.be/oHSehKtDyoI
> 
> Love, Holly.


	6. If You're Crazy, So Am I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning. There are implications of child abuse here so please be aware.

Craig was the last one left at Token’s house. With a quick glance at a nearby clock, he knew it was a little after eleven. Clyde and Jimmy had already said their goodbyes and gone on their way a while ago. But Craig was taking his sweet time. His phone buzzed again in his hoodie pocket. He didn’t bother to look at it. He already knew it was another text from his Mom, which probably said something like, “Don’t be out too late!” He wished she would quit worrying about him all the time. He was fine.

“So not that I mind, but isn’t it kind of late for you?” Token pointed out, his eyes still glued to the TV in his living room. He had turned on some weird, horror movie on Netflix, but Craig wasn’t really paying attention to it.

Craig rolled his eyes as he commented, “What are you? My Mom?”

Token’s mouth quirked into a half-smile. “Just saying. You usually leave by now.”

“Just don’t feel like going home right now.” Craig said with a shrug.

“Not that I care or anything, but is everything okay?” Token asked, his voice light and good-humored, but Craig knew he actually was concerned. He didn’t need his feelings to tell him that.

“I’m fine.” Craig replied. Then he paused, considering whether he wanted to tell Token. _‘Fuck it.’_

With his usual, unaffected tone, Craig said, “My Dad called.”

Now Token did take his eyes off the TV.

“No shit.” He looked surprised. “It’s been…what, five years?”

“Six.” Craig corrected him.

“So what did he want?” Craig shrugged again. “Just to talk, I guess. He left a voicemail.”

“Do you think he wants to reconnect with you guys?” Token asked curiously.

“Don’t know.”

Token seemed to consider something before he asked, “Did you tell your Mom?”

Craig shook his head. “No, but I think she knows something’s up anyways.”

“That seems to be a super power that Moms have.”

“Yeah.” Craig agreed absently. Then he said, “And before you ask, no. I don’t want to see him.”

Token grinned. “Get out of my head, Craig. Between this and game tonight, I’m starting to think you have super powers too.”

Craig gave a short laugh. “Yeah right. It’s not a super power if I’ve known you since we were kids.”

“Good point. Guess you’re just a regular human like the rest of us.”

“Yep. Good, old boring Craig. Just the way I like it.” Craig agreed.

“That explains why Samina is so cautious in game all the time.” Token teased him.

Craig raised an eyebrow in Token’s direction. “Sorry I don’t go in guns blazing like Jimmy and Clyde. Probably ruins your plot, huh?”

Token laughed, “As if. I know you, dude. I know how you play. I plan for it.”

“Guess I’ll have to switch it up then.”

“Good luck with that.” Token said, sounding amused as he turned his attention back to the movie. “You can’t outwit the game master.”

Craig was going to respond when his phone buzzed again. He groaned. “Damn it, Mom.”

“She really wants you to come home, huh?” Token commented casually.

“I’m just gonna go. She’s gonna keep bugging me until I do.” He said, getting to his feet.

Token asked, “Are you coming over tomorrow? I’m just playing video games and bumming around, but it should be fun.”

“If I can convince my Mom to leave me alone for five minutes, yes. I’m there.”

Token gave a smile and a nod, “Cool. See you tomorrow then.”

Craig didn’t need Token to walk him out or anything like that. They’d been friends since they were kids so Token’s house was like a second home to him. Even if Token’s Mom still made them take their shoes off before they touched her carpet. Speaking of, Craig slid his shoes back onto his feet before he stepped onto Token’s front porch. He gave a brief wave to Token then closed the door behind him.

It was colder now than it was when he walked over earlier. He pulled his hood over his blue chullo, hoping to block out some of the cold wind. Once his hands were safely nestled back in his pocket, he set off on his way back home.

~

Craig’s Mom didn’t like him coming home from Token’s when it was dark out. Especially when it was this late. She worried that the crazy people would be out. She worried that something bad would happen to him. But Craig wasn’t worried. He might not have been in a fight in a while, but he could still hold his own. Plus, the druggies and homeless people still remembered how much of a hothead he used to be. They went out of their way to avoid him. This mildly amused him.

As he walked on the sidewalk that led past the park, Craig noticed a woman on the opposite side, walking towards him. He noted that she was tall and slender with dark hair piled on top of her head. Her long, black dress swirled around her, giving her the appearance of blending into the night. She looked beautiful but in a way that put him on edge. Maybe it was because she looked both young and old at the same time. They were nearly about to cross paths when she paused, flashing a slow, toothless smile at him.

“Out late, aren’t you?” She commented, her accent sounding strangely formal to his ears.

“So are you.” Craig pointed out.

“So I am.” She agreed, tilting her head up towards the moonlight, her eyes closed. Craig was strangely fascinated by the curve of her pale neck. “I find it pleasant to walk at night. Not a soul around. Just you and your thoughts.”

Craig replied in his apathetic voice, “And the drug addicts.”

She opened one green eye to look at him, her smile spreading into a grin. “Oh, I don’t worry much about them. They’re more frightened of me than I am of them anyways.”

Craig couldn’t help the confused expression on his face. He didn’t understand what about this woman would scare someone. “Why would they be scared of you?”

She chuckled, turning her full gaze on him. Craig was hypnotized by her attention. With a practiced tone, she recited something that sounded familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. “A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.”

“You don’t look evil to me.” Craig replied. Because she didn’t. She was beautiful and eerie, but she didn’t look dangerous.

She looked amused. “Of course I don’t, dear boy.” She moved closer to him, still smiling. Craig found himself wondering why he wasn’t concerned about how close she was. “How would I draw close to your kind if I was not pleasing to your eyes?”

The moment she said that, something triggered in his mind. He knew, without knowing why, that there was something wrong with her. Craig reached out with his feelings, trying to pick up on any emotions she could be emitting. But he couldn’t feel anything. _‘What the hell? Why can’t I feel her?’_

“What are you?” He asked, studying her clinically now, like she was an experiment in Biology.

Her smile widened into a pointy grin, sharper than it should have been. “You shouldn’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to.”

Suddenly, the veins in her face turned black, threading their way towards her green eyes. Craig watched in fascinated horror as her eyes smudged themselves out into darkness. Her beautiful face rippled into graying, rotten flesh and the effect continued, spreading rapidly over her body. Even the world around them shifted into decay, darker than night, looking old and forgotten. The one thing that stayed the same was her grin, growing as her mouth opened wide like a snake’s, ready to swallow its prey whole.

She spoke, her entrancing voice gone, replaced by a guttural snarl. “Stay out of my way.”

Then she lunged at him, quick as a flash.

Craig watched his death come for him and couldn’t even find the will to run.

And suddenly, everything was back to normal.

Craig didn’t realize that he had closed his eyes until he opened them again. It was still dark and cold, but South Park no longer looked like it had been abandoned for hundreds of years. His hands were shaking. He noted this with a passing interest. He was primarily focused on searching for the woman, but the streets were empty. She was nowhere to be seen.

 _‘I haven’t been sleeping well, but there’s no way I imagined that.’_ He thought to himself. He wanted to investigate the area. He wanted to see if there was some evidence that he hadn’t just had a vivid hallucination. But his phone buzzed again in his hoodie pocket. “Seriously Mom?”

He took another cursory glance around before he continued his walk home. Investigating would have to wait until tomorrow.

~

When he walked through the front door, Craig noticed that the light was still on in the kitchen. Then he noticed that his Mom was sitting at the kitchen table, wearing her pajamas with the cats all over them. She called to him, “Hi honey. Would you mind talking with me for a minute?”

Craig was grateful that he had such a good poker face. Due to the incessant texts, he was already annoyed with her but now he was suspicious too. He had a feeling that he knew what she wanted to talk about. There was no way to avoid talking about it, unfortunately. She had that look on her face again. The one from earlier this afternoon, when Tweek was over. Only this time, Tweek wasn’t here so she could say what she’d been thinking.

He didn’t sit down at the table with his Mom. Instead, he leaned against the kitchen counter, watching her with feigned disinterest, but really, he was nervous. More nervous than he wanted to admit to himself.

His Mom took a sip of tea before she said, “So, I noticed that your Father called today.”

“Yep.” Craig replied casually, trying to keep from freezing up.

“He left a message on the answering machine. But you knew that already.” She said, watching him intently.

Craig nodded. No point denying that. She could tell that someone had played the message. “Yep.”

“How come you didn’t say something?” Her voice sounded casual, but Craig knew that was far from how she was feeling. He didn’t need to read her emotions to know that.

“Didn’t seem like a big deal.”

She paused, taking another drink before she said, “So why did you leave the house like you did?”

Now Craig did freeze up. His hands were shaking again so he quickly shoved them in his hoodie pocket. His Mom couldn’t see that.

“You left the fridge wide open. And you left a plate of food out on the table.” She gave him a knowing look. “You’re a teenage boy. You don’t just leave food untouched. And you left the front door open too. Why?”

“I forgot something at school.” Craig lied quickly, trying to recover his composure.

His Mom eyed him with a blank expression. He knew that she knew he was lying. He could feel it. “What did you forget?”

“My phone. I left it in my locker.”

“And you were in such a hurry to go get it that you left the front door open?”

Craig shrugged. “I thought I shut it. Must not have latched all the way. It won’t happen again.”

_‘You’re such a fucking liar. And you’re not even good at it. Mom knows. She knows she knows she knows she…’_

And then, his Mom dropped the bombshell.

“Craig, did your Father…did he touch you?”

Craig flinched. “No.”

His Mom pressed him, still looking concerned. “Honey, are you sure? You were just a kid when he left. Maybe you…”

“Mom, I’m sure. I’d remember.” He interrupted her. He had to get away. He felt like he was drowning. “Can I go to bed now? I’m tired.”

She sighed. “Okay, honey. Go on.”

Craig immediately moved from his spot, heading for the kitchen door. Then his Mom said, “You know you can tell me anything, right? I mean that.”

He paused to look at her and said, “I know.” Then he turned away and made his escape.

~

Craig couldn’t sleep. Once he was sure that his Mom had gone to bed, he’d turned his light back on. He didn’t want to be in the dark. Frustrated, he stared at the clock on his phone that read, ‘3:13 AM.’ He wished he wasn’t awake right now. But he just couldn’t manage to nod off.

With a groan, he rolled out of bed and, on a whim, went to look out his bedroom window. He wondered if maybe Tweek was out sleepwalking again. That would at least give him something to do. When he pulled back the curtain, he was saw that Tweek was  outside yet again. But he was on his back porch this time, sitting on the top step, wrapped up in a blanket.

“Maybe he’s awake?” Craig mused. “I should go check on him, just to be sure.”

 _‘It’s not like I have anything better to do.’_  

This thought was how Craig found himself standing in the gap between his house and Tweek’s for the second time that week. He pressed his hands further into his hoodie pocket as another cold wind blew through him. Tweek still sat on his porch, cocooned by his thick blanket.

“You awake?” Craig called, a safe enough distance away so he didn’t startle him.

Tweek didn’t even jump. This surprised Craig. Tweek briefly glanced over at him before he returned to staring at nothing. “Y—yeah.”

Craig approached Tweek, noticing the miserable expression on the other boy’s face. That tugged at something in his mind, but he couldn’t quite recall it. He sat down carefully beside Tweek and asked, “You having trouble sleeping too?”

Tweek smiled wryly. “What g—gave it away?”

“Definitely not that you’re sitting outside at three in the morning.”

“Of course not. I always hang out here in the m—middle of the night.” Tweek tucked himself further into the blanket, saying quietly, “At least, this week anyways.”

Craig said, trying to sound matter of fact, “It’s hard getting used to a new place.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever get u—used to it. I miss home. And I hate it here.”

“I’d tell you it gets better, but that would be a lie.” Craig admitted. “This town is fucking crazy.”

Tweek eyed him curiously from inside his blanket cocoon. He studied Craig for a moment, like he was trying to figure something out. Finally, he said, “My parents think I’m crazy.”

Now it was Craig’s turn to study Tweek. “Why’s that?”

“You r—really have to ask? You saw me run out of c—class. You see me freak out every day. Normal people d—d—don’t do that shit.”

Craig pressed the boy, curious about what he might say. “So what do you freak out about?”

Tweek didn’t look at Craig when he said, “I see things.”

“Like what?”

The blonde boy took a deep breath. Craig could feel twinges of worry surrounding him. But what was Tweek worried about? That he saw things? Or was he worried about what Craig might think of him? Craig couldn’t tell.

“I see—Jesus—I see people turn into m—monsters. I see aliens r—running around.” Tweek shivered, pulling the blanket tighter around him. “I have trouble s—sleeping because I see things in m—my dreams.”

Craig didn’t say anything. He just listened.

“I don’t want to think I’m c—crazy.” Tweek continued, his voice filling with more misery as he spoke. “But maybe I am. God, what if they’re r—right about m—me? What if…”

“No.”

Tweek glanced over at him, looking surprised. Craig flushed a little. He didn’t realize how sudden his response was. He just didn’t want to hear Tweek tear into himself like that anymore. So he said slowly, trying to gain some distance from his reaction, “There’s nothing wrong with you.”

In a quiet voice, Tweek said, “You’re not in my head, Craig. You don’t know.”

“I don’t need to be in your head. I know.”

Tweek stared intently at him. Craig could feel so many emotions swirling inside the other boy. It was almost too much to keep track. Finally, Tweek said, “T—tell me. How do you know?”

“Because…” Craig hesitated before he spoke the words out loud. “Because if you’re crazy, then so am I.”

“W—w—what?” Tweek gaped at him.

Craig continued, not letting himself get distracted by the shock on Tweek’s face, “I don’t see things like you do, but I feel things. Other people’s emotions.”

“N—no way.” Tweek stared at him like he’d never seen him before. “Prove it.”

So Craig focused on Tweek, letting a little bit of his control go. He didn’t think about the way Tweek looked at him or the way the boy’s skin was red from the cold. Instead, he reached out towards his emotions, which were so open and free for the taking. With each emotion he encountered, Craig spoke it out loud, pressing into the feeling to learn more.

“You’re angry. You never wanted to move here but your parents didn’t care.” Craig said, trying not notice the expression on Tweek’s face. He couldn’t read his emotions if he saw how he reacted.

“You’re ashamed,” Craig continued. “You hate that everyone sees you freak out.”

“And you’re afraid. Of…” Craig paused, concentrating harder. “Afraid of what the therapist is going to say on Monday.”

Craig pulled back, not wanting to delve any deeper. He wasn’t happy that he knew Tweek was going to see a therapist. He didn’t think that Tweek would like him knowing. This was why he didn’t read people’s emotions. He didn’t want to know their deep, dark secrets. He didn’t want to think of people differently. And he didn’t tell people what he could do because he didn’t want them to think of him differently either.

When he focused his attention back on Tweek, expecting the boy to be freaked out, he was surprised to see the mixture of surprise and awe on his face.

“Wow.” Tweek breathed, looking at Craig with wonder. “You have a super power.”

Craig gave a short laugh, smiling wryly at the other boy. “Wouldn’t call it that.”

“Well what else w—would you call it then? I don’t k—know anyone else who can d—do that!”

Craig shrugged, trying to play it off. “It’s just a quirk I have.”

Tweek raised a dubious eyebrow at him. “R-right. A quirk is mismatching your socks or walking b—backwards through doors. What you have isn’t a quirk.”

“Okay. So what about you then?” Craig countered.

“W—what about me?” Tweek asked, looking puzzled.

“Do you have a quirk or a super power?”

“According to my parents, I have a f—ff-fucked up head.” Tweek replied bitterly.

Craig said, “Forget them. What do you think?”

“Honestly?” Tweek started, before he sighed out his next words. “I don’t know.”

Silence enveloped them now. Craig didn’t mind it, but he felt like he had something else he needed to say. Without looking at Tweek, he muttered, “I’m sorry you have to go to a therapist.”

“I’m sorry you have such a w—weird next door neighbor.” Tweek replied, resting his head on his knees. He looked small in this moment and so very tired.

Craig didn’t know how to say that he enjoyed having someone to talk to when he couldn’t sleep. He didn’t know how to explain his surprise that Tweek wasn’t freaked out by what he could do. And he didn’t know how to tell Tweek that life was more interesting with him around. He wanted to say all those things to him. He really did. But he just didn’t have the words. So instead he said,

“You aren’t so bad.”

Tweek tilted his head to look at Craig with curious eyes. Then, with a small smile playing on his face, he said, “N—neither are you.”

Despite the cold wind blowing through them, Craig felt strangely warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "...Now the past can be outrun  
> And I know you are the reason  
> I still believe the best is yet to come."  
> \--Red, Best is Yet to Come
> 
> Love, Holly.


	7. Wounds That Will Not Heal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is more talk of child abuse in this chapter. Be warned.  
> Also, welcome back to my crazy mind. I missed this.

Tweek stared down at the sandwich his Mom made him for lunch. He hated bologna. He told her that every day. But she never listened to him. Maybe he just needed to start making his own lunch when she wasn’t looking. Otherwise, he wasn’t going to eat much. As he peeled the bologna off his bread, he heard a familiar voice say,

“Why are you eating in here?”

Surprised, he looked up to see Craig standing in the doorway of the empty classroom. Craig watched him with a curious look on his face. He had to remind himself to be cool. Whatever that meant.

“W—what?” Craig repeated. “Why are you eating in here?”

Quietly, Tweek muttered, hoping Craig wouldn’t notice how embarrassed he was, “I d—don’t have anyone to eat w—with.”

_‘God. I feel so pathetic. Hiding in a classroom because no one wants to eat lunch with me. Such a fucking loser.’_

“Come eat with me then.” Craig said.

Tweek stared at him with wide eyes. _‘Did I hear that right?’_

“You want m—me to eat with you?”

Craig nodded. “Yes.”

“But—but don’t you eat with your f—friends?”

“Yeah, but they won’t mind if you’re there.”

Tweek’s eyes shifted from Craig to his mangled bologna sandwich. He wasn’t sure that he could handle being in the cafeteria. It was bad enough being stuck in a room full of people when he had class. The cafeteria was ten times worse.

“We sit at a table in the corner.” Craig said, interrupting his thoughts. “It’s close to the doors so you can leave quickly if you need to.”

_‘He knows.’_

Tweek found himself strangely warmed by that thought. He asked, only half-serious, “Are you r—reading my feelings again, Craig?”

“Don’t need to.”

“I’m that easy to r—read, huh?”

“For me.” Craig replied, his mouth twisted into a wry smile.

The back of Tweek’s neck warmed. “R—right.” He wasn’t sure what else to say to that.

“So you’re coming with me?” Craig asked.

Tweek nodded, trying to sound calmer than he felt. “Yeah.”

~

Tweek nervously walked behind Craig as they approached the lunch table. He couldn’t help but feel anxious about being around Craig’s friends. He already knew he was going to say or do something dumb. He was never good with new people. Especially not with these new people, since one of them had already seen him run screaming out of class. He was going to avoid making eye contact with that kid, the one with short, brown hair. Actually, he was going to try hard to avoid making eye contact with anyone. He didn’t want to start twitching again.

“Craig, where the hell did you…” The kid with short, brown hair started to say, before he noticed Tweek, slowly peeking out from behind Craig. Then he said, “Oh.”

Tweek could feel their eyes on him. He stared down at his feet, taking inventory of the flecks of dirt on his shoes, hoping that maybe the ground would swallow him up. At least that way, he would be out of this awkward moment.

“Hi Tweek.” Someone said, actually sounding semi-friendly.

Tweek dared a glance up to see who spoke. It was the black kid. Tweek knew he had a class with him but he didn’t know his name.

“I’m Token.” The black kid offered. “We have math class together.”

“Y—yeah, I know you.” Tweek replied, trying to stay calm.

Token nodded. “Cool. You know, there’s room over here if you and Craig want to sit down.”

Tweek looked over at Craig. He just stood there, watching Tweek quietly. Tweek had a feeling that Craig wanted him to decide so he said, “Okay.” Then he gingerly sat in the space beside Token, leaving a gap so he wasn’t too close. Craig sat beside him, unpacking his lunch to eat. The kid with short, brown hair was still staring at Tweek and it made him nervous.

Craig, in the middle of pulling out stuff from his lunch bag, said casually, “Need something, Clyde?”

“Huh?” Clyde’s gaze broke to look at Craig. Then he must have realized that he was staring way too long because he looked embarrassed. “Oh, uh, no. I’m good. Just—“

“S—staring at Bebe again?” A kid with crutches slid into the seat next to Clyde, grinning broadly.

Clyde looked mortified. “What the hell, Jimmy? Why don’t you just shout that to the whole school next time? Jesus Christ.”

Jimmy affectionately jabbed Clyde with his elbow. “Only if you really w—want me to, buddy!”

“You should just talk to her, Clyde. What’s the worst that could happen?” Token advised, using his spoon to pick the peas out of his cafeteria lunch.

Clyde gaped at him. “Are you kidding? What’s the worst thing that could happen? I could like, spontaneously combust or something!”

“Such a drama queen.” Craig commented in between bites of his sandwich.

“Oh I’m sorry. I forget that you have the emotional range of a teaspoon.” Clyde replied sarcastically.

Tweek couldn’t help but be amused by this. Clyde never would have said that if he knew what Craig could do. Then he realized something. Clyde didn’t know what Craig could do, but he did. What did that mean? Why did he know something that Clyde didn’t?

“Oooooo, so speaking of drama queens, did you guys hear what C—C—Cartman said?” Jimmy interjected.

“At this point, what hasn’t Cartman said?” Token said, rolling his eyes.

Jimmy kept going, ignoring Token’s comment. “C—Cartman said that him and his friends got abducted by aliens last night!”

“Yawn.” Clyde replied, clearly bored.

“And then he enslaved their entire p—planet.”

Token rolled his eyes again. Tweek wondered if they would accidentally get stuck in the back of his head. “Because of course he did.”

Craig commented passively, “You know this is why nobody likes hanging out with them.”

“You mean because they’re always getting into stupid shit like this?” Token replied.

Craig pointed an approving finger in Token’s direction. “Bingo.”

“Hey fellas!”

Everyone turned to look at the two people approaching their table. Tweek recognized one of them—that kid Butters from the other day. Yet another person who saw him eating alone in the classroom like a loser.

_‘Great. A collection of people who have seen me embarrass myself. What could go wrong?’_

Clyde smiled at Butters. Tweek guessed they were sort of friends. “Hey, how are you doing?”

“Pretty good! I’m having lunch with the guys today.” Butters replied brightly. Then he turned in Tweek’s direction and asked, “How are you, Tweek?”

Fighting back panic, he said, “G—good.”

“Oh, before I forget, have you met Kenny?” Butters asked, gesturing to the tall, blond boy standing beside him, hands shoved deep inside the pockets of his obscenely bright, orange parka. Tweek tried not to stare at him. But it was kind of difficult not to.

He asked hesitantly, “Are—Are you n—new too?”

Kenny smiled warmly at him. Tweek’s stomach fluttered with nervous energy. Then Kenny said in a casual way, “No, I’ve lived in South Park my whole life.”

“That’s Kenny McCormick. He’s in our class.” Craig whispered, clearly trying to remind him. But Tweek didn’t understand why. He couldn’t remember someone he’d never seen before.

“Since when?” Tweek asked. Then he said to Kenny, “Were you here last week? I don’t r—remember seeing you.”

He looked around and noticed that everyone was giving him strange looks.

_‘Did I grow a second head? Oh Jesus. This is my freaking nightmare. Why are they all staring at me?’_

Butters said in his bright voice, “Well, I’m sure it must have just slipped your mind. What with it being your first week and all.”

In an effort to get rid of everyone’s eyes on him, Tweek said quickly, “Y—yeah. You’re probably right.”

And just like that, everyone went back to their conversations.

But Tweek knew that Kenny didn’t slip his mind. He couldn’t say it, but Kenny was one of those people you didn’t forget seeing. He was kind of…what was the word he was looking for? Unforgettable? Kenny was someone that made you turn around to get a second look. He couldn’t imagine not noticing him.

Just then, he had a weird feeling, like something was tugged in the back of his mind. He glanced up and locked eyes with Kenny. The tall blond stared at him like there was no one else in the room, blue eyes filled with interest. Tweek’s face flushed at the attention. He didn’t understand why Kenny was staring at him.

“Well, we’d better get going! Don’t want to run out of time for lunch.” Butters said. Tweek suddenly came back into the moment. The spell was broken and Kenny’s focus shifted back to the table of people.

“See you in art class later!” Clyde said before diving back into his lunch.

“Okie dokie!” Butters replied, before he and Kenny set off for the other side of the cafeteria. Tweek told himself not to but he snuck a second look at Kenny as he walked away. Once his eyes shifted back to the table, he noticed there was a pile of pretzels in front of him. He glanced over at Craig, who answered his unspoken question with,

“I thought you might like those more than bologna.”

A small smile slipped onto Tweek’s face. Many things in his life were incredibly shitty, but Craig wasn’t one of them.

~

 _‘I don’t remember ever seeing this place.’_ Tweek thought, staring at his therapist’s office.

It wasn’t like South Park was a big town so there’s no way he could have just missed it. But it couldn’t have popped up out of thin air either. That sort of thing didn’t happen. Though part of him wondered if he was just incredibly unobservant. He could have just overlooked this place.

He stared intently at the stone steps that led to the house, the wooden sign that read ‘Fleur Dionis, Doctor of Psychiatry’ blowing slightly in the breeze, and finally the foreboding house that seemed to materialize out of the fog swirling around it. Was it possible that he really wouldn’t have noticed this place? Part of him didn’t think so. It was like a haunted house out of one of those old, scary movies.

“M—M—Mom?” He said, turning to look at his mother. She sat in the driver’s seat of the family car, tapping away at her cell phone.

In her pleasant, vapid voice, still not looking up from her phone, his mother said, “Yes honey?”

“Can you p—please go in with me?”

She laughed like he had told a funny joke. “Honey, you’re fifteen now. You need to start acting like an adult and go places without your Mom.”

“B—but you drove me here.” Tweek pointed out.

“Well I had to make sure you actually went to your appointment. The way you’ve been acting, it wouldn’t surprise me if you never showed up.” She said, humming quietly to herself.

Tweek nervously eyed the house ahead. “I don’t n—n—need to see a shrink, Mom.”

“Well honey, we both know that’s not true. We thought moving here would make you better, but you’re just getting worse.”

“I’m f—f—fine.” Tweek insisted.

With a casual tone to her voice, his mother said, “We know you’re sleepwalking again.”

Tweek’s skin crawled at that comment. She still wasn’t looking up from her phone.

“We don’t want to have to start locking you in again. Don’t force us to do that.”

“P—please don’t.”

“We won’t. Not if you’re good and go see the psychiatrist.”

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to cry or scream. He couldn’t look at her. All he could think about was the time they locked him in.

_There was no option for him but panicking. The closet was so dark. He scrambled blindly, trying to feel for a light among the suffocating winter coats. He honestly didn’t think there was a light in here. But he had to try. Even though there was nothing. Only darkness. Finally, he lost it, slamming his hands against the door with as much force as he could muster. He howled, “Let me out of here!”_

_But they didn’t come. He stayed in that closet all night long, hitting the door and screaming because there was nothing else he could do. When they finally let him out the next morning, he stared at his bruised and bloodied hands with a cold detachment. His parents smiled. Such a good boy. You didn’t sleepwalk._

With this memory in his mind, Tweek said, “Okay. I’ll go.”

Tweek knew his Mom was smiling when she told him, “That’s my good boy.”

He opened the car door to get out. He felt like he was signing his own death sentence. But he had to go. There was no other choice. Against his own judgment, he walked towards the house. He willed his feet to run away, to go anywhere but here. But he kept going, watching the house get closer and closer. He was scared, but he didn’t know why.

~

“The Doctor will see you now.” The woman said tonelessly, gesturing past her and down the hallway.

Tweek got up from his seat, squeezing his fists tight in his pockets. His whole body was on edge in this place. “W—where do I go?”

“The door at the end of the hallway.” She said, staring off into space.

He didn’t run away from the woman at the desk, but he certainly hurried. Everything about this place put him on edge. The woman seemed so empty, like she wasn’t even a person. It was gloomy inside this ornate, ancient looking house and the lighting was sparse, which didn’t help. Plus, he felt like someone was watching him, even though he hadn’t seen anyone else since he arrived. He hated it here.

Finally, he stood in front of the door at the end of the hallway. It was dark, with all sorts of weird things carved into the wood. When he reached out to knock on the door, the wood was cold against his skin.

A woman’s voice called out, “Come in!”

When Tweek worked up the courage to open the door, what he saw surprised him. This place was more welcoming than the rest of the house, with warm, light fixtures surrounding the room, various bookshelves, and a leather couch opposite a high-backed chair, where a woman sat.

She smiled, her eyes beckoning him. “Please, have a seat.”

Tweek didn’t remember to be afraid as he sat down on the couch, taking her in. Her hair was a deep red, cascading in waves around her shoulders. Her clothes were white, which gave her an ethereal appearance. But it was her eyes that really caught his attention. They were deep green, familiar and foreign all at once, drawing him in with their intensity. He was hit with a sudden realization that he’d been staring at her for too long.

“I’m s—s—sorry.” He stammered.

She smiled warmly at him. “What are you sorry for?”

“I don’t—I don’t know.”

“Then there’s no need to apologize.”

Tweek really didn’t know what to say. He definitely wasn’t expecting this when he first saw the house. He started to fidget nervously with his hands.

“How about we start? I’m Doctor Dionis, as you know. It’s nice to meet you, Tweek.”

“You too.” Tweek replied quickly.

She eased back into the chair, hands in her lap. “What would you like to talk about today?”

“I don’t know.” “Your parents seem to think that you have a lot to talk about.” The Doctor said, her voice pleasant but tinged with meaning.

Tweek flushed, feeling angry. He couldn’t help but wonder what his parents told her. Before he could stop himself, he said, “Yeah, well, they seem to think they k—know a lot of things.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at him. “And you don’t think they do?”

“N—no.”

“And why is that?” She asked amiably.

“I hate bologna. I tell my Mom that every day. But when she makes my lunch, she puts f—freaking bologna on my sandwiches.” Tweek snapped.

She shrugged. “Could it be that your Mom is just busy? And she doesn’t have time to remember what you asked for?”

Tweek muttered, “More like she doesn’t have time to remember me.”

With a curious look, the Doctor asked, “Do you resent your Mom, Tweek?”

Tweek’s gaze darted upwards. He stared at the Doctor, feeling scared. She smiled politely at him before she asked, “Is something bothering you?”

“You’re—you’re not…” He struggled to get out the words. “Please don’t…”

She seemed to understand what he was trying to say. So she cut him off and said, “Don’t worry. What you say to me stays right here.” She relaxed a little into her seat before she continued. “However, I could tell you some things that your parents have told me. Perhaps shed some light on this situation?”

“Umm, sure?” Tweek offered weakly. He wasn’t sure where she was going with this.

Doctor Dionis looked the picture of sincere kindness when she said, “Your parents told me you were a mistake.”

Tweek gaped at her, unable to believe what he had just heard. He stammered, “W—wh—what?”

“I know it’s hard to hear, but you need to hear it.” She said sympathetically. “Your parents find it hard to care about you. You need to face that fact.”

“Why…” Tweek’s face burned. He thought he might cry. “Why would they say that?”

“Because you’re the source of all their problems.”

“I didn’t—I didn’t mean to…” He couldn’t even finish his sentence. The words were stuck in his throat.

She nodded. Tweek could barely see her through his teary eyes. “You might not have meant to be, but you are. You’re the reason that they had to move here. You’re the reason everything went wrong.”

Now Tweek did cry. He buried his face into his arms, hot, angry tears spilling down his cheeks. He didn’t want to believe that his parents said that. But he knew it was true. They said it to him every day, with their actions. In the way they ignored him. In the way they controlled him. In the way they tried to make him their perfect kid. But he wasn’t. He was fundamentally broken—messed up and with no way to fix that. Because above all, he wasn’t good. He didn’t think he ever had been.

The Doctor asked, “Would you like a tissue?”

He glanced up at her, wiping tears away with the back of his hand. His desire to leave was overwhelming. “N—n—no. I want to go.”

She gave him another sympathetic look. “I understand this is hard for you. But we should really keep going.”

His shook his head. “N—no.”

She countered with, “Tell me what happened the night of the fire.”

Tweek froze.

“It must have been very traumatic for you.” She said, clearly trying to egg him into talking.

“I don’t w—want to talk about it.”

She eyed him curiously. “Why is that?”

He couldn’t help it. He just snapped. “Because it’s none of your fucking business!”

Before she could do anything about it, Tweek ran. He practically flew out of the room, all fear of the house disappearing in the wake of his anger and misery. He didn’t bother shutting the door behind him. In a flash, he was at the front desk, running past the woman who said in that some lifeless voice,

“Thank you for coming. We’ll see you next time.”

Tweek didn’t stop running until he reached the sidewalk and nearly tripped over his own feet. He doubled over, gasping for air. _‘God, I’m so fucking screwed.’_ He thought, realizing that his parents were going to know what he had done. The Doctor was going to tell them. He was done for. Thoughts of the closet loomed in his mind. He stared down at his hands, searching for bruises that were not there. 

“Fuck.” He snaked his fingers through his wild, blonde hair, trying to keep the bruises out of his thoughts, and panicking. “What do I do?”

He scanned the street, looking for his Mom’s car, but he didn’t see it. She must have left after he went inside. He had never been so grateful to be forgotten. But what now? It wasn’t like he could go home. His Mom was sure to be there and she would definitely notice that he only been at the psychiatrist’s office for fifteen minutes. Then he remembered that there was a park. It was closer to his Dad’s coffee shop than he liked, but it was all he could think of at the moment.

_‘I’ll just hang out there. Until I figure out what to do.’_

As he made his way towards the town park, trying to walk normally and not like he was about to freak out, he noticed someone walking towards him on the sidewalk. Normally he didn’t really notice people. He mostly kept his eyes on the ground and avoided eye contact with anyone. If you made eye contact with people, they thought it was okay to talk to you. Tweek didn’t want to talk to anyone. Especially not right now.

But he noticed this old woman. Specifically, he noticed her eyes, which were glazed over and milky white. She wasn’t looking at anything in particular, until she was. Tweek froze in place as her freaky eyes caught him. She grinned, showing off her missing teeth. Then, she cackled at him like she had just heard a hilarious joke.

“Well looky here! It’s the fire starter!”

He really thought he might scream. He covered his ears, trying to block out her raspy voice. For a brief, terrifying moment, he wondered if everyone knew. If his parents had told everyone what had happened. But he rationalized that, no, they wouldn’t have told the whole goddamn town. That would wreck their perfect image. He was just paranoid.

She cackled again, repeating over and over, “Fire starter fire starter fire starter!”

“Leave me alone!” He shouted at the old woman, still pressing his hands to his ears.

Someone on the other side of the street paused to stare at him. He didn’t understand why they weren’t staring at the old woman. She looked way crazier than he did. At least, he hoped so. Then he turned back to look at her and there wasn’t one old woman anymore. There were three. All pointing, all cackling, all staring at him with wide, white eyes.

_‘No. Please no.’_

He was seeing things again. That’s why the person looked at him weird. Because the old woman wasn’t really there. Craig said that he wasn’t crazy. But Tweek didn’t think he could believe that. Not when he saw shit like this. Craig might have had an actual super power, but him? He was just fucking nuts.

Tweek ran through the growing crowd of old women like they were nothing more than smoke. All he could think of was the park. Maybe there he would be safe. At least for a moment.

~

Tweek sat on one of the swings in the park, contemplating his completely fucked up life, when he had his second encounter with Kenny McCormick. The blonde boy walked towards him, seemingly out of nowhere. He looked so perfectly at peace that Tweek couldn’t help but be envious. Before Tweek knew it, Kenny sat on the swing beside him, swirling his feet in the sand below.

“So, you remember me.” Kenny said.

“I m—met you this morning.” Tweek replied, confused at this random statement.

“True, but that’s not what I’m talking about.” Kenny continued, his voice casual. “You remembered that I wasn’t in class last week.”

Tweek stared at him. He didn’t know what to say.

“Which, you’re right, I wasn’t. But here’s the thing. In the history of my life, there have been a grand total of zero people that remember when I’m gone. Until now.” Kenny quirked his head, staring intently at Tweek. “So what’s different about you? Why do you remember when everyone else forgets?”

“I—I don’t know.”

Kenny said, without missing a beat, “I die, you know.”

“W—what?” Tweek couldn’t help but gape at him. _‘What the hell? Did I hear that right?’_

“That’s what happens when I’m gone. I die.” Tweek took a long look at Kenny. Part of him wondered if he was just fucking with him. It wouldn’t surprise him, all things considered. He was always an easy target for people. But the way Kenny looked at him made him think it was the truth. There was a wariness to him, like he wasn’t quite sure about Tweek. But there was hope there as well, something that he couldn’t hide even if he wanted to. Hope had a funny way of shining through everything else, shining brighter than even the darkest of things. Tweek supposed that was why hope was so dangerous.

“Where do you go when you d—die?” Tweek asked hesitantly.

Kenny shrugged one shoulder. “Heaven, hell…some places in between. I thought it had something to do with how good or bad I’ve been before I die. But I’m not sure anymore.”

“Does it hurt?” Tweek didn’t know where that question came from. But he knew that he needed the answer.

With a grim smile, Kenny said, “Every time.”

Tweek couldn’t look at Kenny. He couldn’t imagine the hell he lived in, even though he lived in a hell of his own every day. Finally, he said, “I see things.”

The other boy didn’t say anything so Tweek turned to look at him. Kenny watched him expectantly, waiting to see what he would say next. So he continued. “They’re not good things. They scare me. Monsters, aliens…I f—freaking saw a demented old lady on the way over here. And she started multiplying everywhere.” Tweek crossed his arms over his chest, trying to find some comfort in the action. “I’m fucking nuts, man.”

After a long moment, Kenny replied, “Just because you’re seeing things doesn’t mean you’re crazy.”

“You know what I wonder?” Tweek said, smiling bitterly. “What’s w—worse? Being crazy or seeing things that are real that no one else can see?”

Kenny said in a measured voice, “I think you’re the only one who can answer that. I’m still trying to decide for myself.” Then he said casually, “Well hello Tucker, fancy seeing you here.”

Tweek turned to see Craig approaching them. He looked as cool and impassive as ever, hands shoved into his hoodie pocket. He replied in his neutral tone of voice, “McCormick.”

“What brings you to the park today, Tucker?” Kenny asked pleasantly.

Craig hesitated, which surprised Tweek. He seemed to struggle with his response for a moment, before he said, “Just taking a walk.”

Kenny arched an eyebrow at him. He clearly wasn’t buying Craig’s story. “Right.” He began to stand up from the swing, and then turned to look at Tweek. His face was playful, but Tweek saw the quiet, contemplative Kenny from before in his eyes. “Let me know if you want to talk again. I’ll be around.”

“Will you?” Tweek asked, trying to convey his meaning to Kenny without having to say anything.

Kenny seemed to understand, because he said with a grin, “Here and there. I don’t like to be tied down, you know?” Then he gently patted his shoulder and said, “See you around, Tweek.” He stood to his full height again, all long legs and sharp edges, his golden hair shining in the sun as he strode away from them.

Tweek made a concerted effort this time not to watch him go.

Craig eased himself into the swing previously occupied by Kenny, hands still shoved deep into his hoodie pocket. He asked, “So how come you’re here? Weren’t you going to the therapist after school?”

Tweek stared down at his shoes again. “I was supposed to.”

As per usual, Craig was completely comfortable with awkward silences and didn’t feel the need to say anything. So Tweek continued with,

“I w—went. For maybe fifteen minutes. I was supposed to stay longer. But she kept trying to bring up stuff from b—before here and I just…” He found himself snaking his fingers into his hair and yanking on it, trying to regain some feeling of control. All the panic from before started flooding back again. “My parents are gonna be pissed at m—me.”

“Are you gonna go home?” Craig asked finally.

Tweek didn’t realize that he’d been thinking about it until Craig said it out loud. “I—I don’t…don’t know.”

“Do you want to spend the night at my house tonight?”

“W—what?” _‘Oh. My. God.’_

Craig shrugged. “It’s fine if you don’t want to. Just thought I’d offer.”

“But what about your Mom?” Tweek asked, still in a small state of shock.

“She won’t care.” Craig replied. Tweek thought about it. If he went home, his parents were going to punish him right then. But if he spent the night at Craig’s house, his punishment would be later. He was a big fan of later. However, if he did that, he would be spending the night with Craig. And he hadn’t spent the night at someone’s house since...

_His heart dropped into his stomach. Matt looked so happy. He couldn’t help the pain he felt or his bitter resentment. He wanted to be the one to make him feel that way. Not her. A knot of dark anger formed inside him, seeping into his core._

_Matt smiled. “I think I’m in love with her.”_

_Most of all, he wanted the hurt to stop._

“Tweek?” Craig said, bringing him out of the past.

“Yeah?” Tweek replied, twisted a little in the swing to look at Craig.

Craig asked again, staring intently at Tweek, “Do you want to come over?”

Tweek nodded, not hesitating at all when he told him, “Y—yeah. I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Crawling in my skin  
> These wounds, they will not heal  
> Fear is how I fall  
> Confusing what is real."  
> \--Crawling, Linkin Park
> 
> Love, Holly.
> 
> P.S. In real life, therapists are a great resource. Don't be scared of them. This therapist just sucks. <3


	8. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, my name's Holly and I take forever to update. Teehee.

Tweek nervously picked at the food on his plate, trying to focus on eating and not on the way that Craig’s sister Tricia stared at him. He knew she was, even though she was clearly trying her best to be sneaky about it. But why was she staring at him? Did he have something in his teeth? Was he growing a third eye on his forehead? He fought the urge to touch his forehead, just to check, just be sure. He knew there wasn’t anything there, but he was so paranoid. He couldn’t help it. He slid his hand up, pretending to scratch an itch, but rubbing his forehead in the process. Everything felt normal. He relaxed a little bit.

_‘God. I’m such a freak.’_

“So how are you liking South Park, Tweek?” Craig’s Mom asked, before taking a bite of lasagna.

Now Craig’s Mom and his sister were staring at him. So he took a shaky drink of his coffee, silently thanking Craig for making this for him and not staring at him. Craig kept his eyes on his plate, casually eating his dinner like he didn’t have a care in the world. Maybe he didn’t.

“It’s f—fine.” Tweek finally managed to say.

“How does it compare to where you used to live?” She asked.

Tweek thought about that for a moment. How could he politely say that South Park sucked in comparison to where he used to live? Torrance was perfect to him. Close to the ocean, warm, and beautiful. It always felt like a dream that could never end. But for him, it did. He missed his old home more than anything. He couldn’t help but think that if Torrance was the eyes of the face, then South Park was the sweaty armpit.

“It’s d—definitely d—dd—different.” Tweek offered, trying to be diplomatic.

“Are you actually from California?” Tricia asked abruptly. “That’s what everyone at school says.”

Startled, Tweek said, “Umm, y—yeah.”

_‘Everyone at her school has been talking about me? Oh god.’_

“So what the hell are you doing here then?” Tricia looked disgusted, like she couldn’t imagine why anyone would move to South Park. Tweek privately agreed with her.

“Tricia! Watch your language!” Craig’s Mom snapped, shooting a sharp look in the girl’s direction.

Tricia rolled her eyes, before she said sarcastically, “I did, Mom. I watched it come right out of my mouth.”

“Don’t be an asshole, Trish.” Craig said, finally speaking up.

“You’re one to talk!” Tricia replied, before turning to her Mom to complain. “How come he gets to swear but I don’t?”

Craig’s Mom stared her daughter down, clearly exasperated. “Because you’re too young to swear.”

“Craig’s been swearing since he was like nine!”

“Tricia, I swear to god. Don’t you keep pushing me.”

Tricia continued in her sarcastic tone, “It’s because I’m a girl, isn’t it? That’s so sexist, Mom!”

“For the love of God.” Craig’s Mom pressed her hand against her forehead, obviously trying to keep her cool. “If I could kill your principal, I would.”

“If you won’t let me swear because you think it’s not lady like, then that’s super offensive, Mom!” Tricia said, continuing her rant. “We’re being progressive now and I’m a woman who should get to say whatever I want.”

Craig scoffed. “Woman. Right.”

Tricia snapped at him. “Don’t make fun of me! That’s demeaning language and I’m not gonna stand for it.”

“So sit down.” Craig replied flatly.

Tweek couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter at that comment. Craig glanced over in his direction, looking pleased. Tweek’s insides twisted, filling him with a nervous warmth.

“Mooooooom.” Tricia whined, turning to complain to her Mom. “Craig’s trying to oppress me.”

Craig’s Mom said sharply, “Tricia, cut the crap or I swear to God you are not going to Ike’s house this weekend.”

Tricia rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

Tweek watched Tricia and Craig flip their middle fingers at each other when their Mom wasn’t looking. He tilted his head away from the table for a moment, trying to hide the fact that he was smiling. Honestly, he liked the way Craig’s family acted. He liked the bickering and the way they messed with each other. This was how he had always pictured a family would be. He couldn’t help but feel envy towards Craig for having the family he always wished he could have.

~

After dinner, Craig and Tweek went upstairs to his room, intending to work on homework. He planned for them to work at the kitchen table, so they could have more room, but Tricia made a huge fuss about having to be near him. Apparently, him oppressing her was just too traumatic to handle. Craig really didn’t care, but he wasn’t in the mood to deal with her shit tonight. He would much rather work in his room anyways. That’s what he usually did, since it was so quiet and he could think without being distracted.

He was pleased to discover that Tweek studied the same way, though with random groans and quiet, nervous outbursts sprinkled throughout. That didn’t bother him. He knew Tweek couldn’t help it. It was when he tried to study with people who could help it that he got annoyed. Clyde was probably the worst about that. He would get tired of studying and start pestering him, complaining about being bored and wanting to do something fun. Craig hated when he did that. How was he supposed to focus with Clyde whining in his ear?

His mind drifted from thinking about how obnoxious Clyde could be, to dinner earlier. He found himself getting annoyed with Tricia again. He didn’t want Tweek to feel uncomfortable, especially not at his house. But Tricia stared at him the whole night and kept asking him dumb questions. It was like she was trying to make him feel out of place, like he was some weird lab experiment instead of just Tweek.

“Sorry about earlier. The whole thing with my sister at dinner.” Craig said suddenly, breaking the silence. “She’s been kind of an asshole lately.”

Tweek glanced at him from his spot on Craig’s bedroom floor. He seemed surprised that Craig was talking at all. “Oh, um…it didn’t b—bother me.” He hesitated before saying, “Honestly, I get it. I mean, why w—would anyone m—move to South Park?”

Craig shrugged. “Dunno. It has a way of pulling people in, I guess. Then people get stuck here and they never leave.”

“Well, I w—want to.” Tweek admitted.

Craig didn’t say it out loud, but he felt the same way that Tweek did. He asked, “What was your old home like?”

All at once, he saw a change come over Tweek. He was still the same person, but he looked almost relaxed somehow. Well, maybe not relaxed, but more at ease than Craig had ever seen him before. And there was a far off look in his eyes, like he was remembering something. Craig sat quietly, listening to Tweek talk and observing him.

“I miss it. A lot. I m—miss the ocean, and the beaches, and how warm everything is. It’s just so c—cold here.” Tweek slid his hands into his jacket pockets, almost like he was trying to retain some warmth. Craig figured that was a subconscious reaction to thinking about his old home.

“So, where you’re from, did you always live there?” Craig asked him curiously.

“Umm well, sort of. I’ve always lived in California but m—my parents moved us around a lot. We were n—never in one place for very long. Torrance was actually the p—place we stayed the longest, before…” Tweek broke off suddenly, staring down at his feet.

Craig offered, “Before you moved?”

Tweek nodded. “Y—yeah.”

“So why did you guys move so much?”

“My Dad works for Skybucks. He’s a general manager so they have him go around and open new stores. Get them on their feet, y—you know?” Tweek replied meekly, wrapping his arms around his knees. “That’s why we’re here. So he can help open the n—new store.”

Craig wondered something so he asked, “Why a location in Colorado though? I mean, if you’ve always lived in California?”

Tweek twitched, suddenly shifting back to his nervous self. “T—th—they wanted a ch—change of p—pp—pace.”

Craig watched the swirl of emotions around Tweek change. Before, they were flowing smoothly and evenly, but now they were cluttered and frantic. He knew Tweek was lying. But why? It didn’t make any sense why he would lie about that. He thought about pressing into Tweek’s emotions to investigate, but decided against it. He never used his ability for things like that. It didn’t seem right. So for whatever reason, Tweek was keeping things from him. He just had to be okay with that.

~

Later that night, Craig was nearly asleep when heard Tweek quietly call his name.

“C—Craig?”

“Yeah?” Craig turned on his side to look at the blonde boy. All he could see of him in the dark room was part of his face, illuminated by the nightlight. Tweek was fidgeting, almost like he was trying to decide something. Craig wondered what he could be thinking. He noted that it was taking Tweek a long time to ask his question. Just as Craig was thinking that Tweek must have forgotten what he wanted to talk about, the other boy asked,

“How do you k—know if you’re a good person or a bad person?”

Craig definitely wasn’t expecting that. But instead of asking Tweek why he wanted to know, Craig took a moment to think about the question. He had honestly never thought about this before. Mostly because he didn’t care whether he was good or bad. He just was. He never tried to examine that too closely. It wasn’t like it mattered.

“I guess it depends on what you do.” Craig said finally, not entirely happy with his answer. But he had to say something, otherwise Tweek might think he didn’t care or that he wasn’t paying attention.

Tweek ventured another question, voice still quiet. “What if you d—did a bad thing?”

That caught Craig’s interest. He wondered what Tweek could have done. He asked, “How bad?”

Tweek hesitated before he said, “P—pretty bad.”

Craig had a sudden, curious urge to ask what it was. But he knew that now wasn’t the time. Besides, he didn’t want to scare Tweek off, not now when he decided to open up to him. So instead he said, “I guess it depends on whether you feel bad about it or not.”

“A little.” Tweek admitted.

“But do you feel good about it too?” Craig asked, his full attention on Tweek now.

“Yeah.” Tweek didn’t look at Craig when he asked, “So what does that make me?”

Craig heard the hitch in Tweek’s voice when he asked that. The answer to this question clearly mattered to him, even though he was trying to pretend that it didn’t. Craig caught Tweek’s gaze, making sure that he was looking at him when he said, “You’re human, Tweek.”

Tweek stared at him. Craig knew he was trying to understand what he meant. So he continued, “Everyone does good and bad things. That’s what human beings do.” He hesitated before saying this part, wondering if he was going too far, but decided to say it anyways. “Whatever you did doesn’t make you a bad person, Tweek. There’s nothing wrong with you.”

Tweek’s eyes shone with an indiscernible emotion. Again, Craig found himself wishing that he knew what Tweek was thinking. Quietly, Tweek said, “Thank you.”

Craig didn’t know what else to say except, “Anytime.”

He was starting to feel uncomfortable with the emotion in the room so he rolled back over again, giving himself some distance from Tweek’s green eyes. “Goodnight, Tweek.”

“G—goodnight, Craig.” Tweek replied before going silent.

~

The hallway that separated Craig’s room from his Mom and sister’s rooms seemed to go on forever. Tweek felt compelled to walk down it, even though he didn’t know why. He couldn’t help but wonder why he was walking down this unending hallway, instead of sleeping. He did not understand. He wanted to walk back to Craig’s room and go back to bed, but he couldn’t. His feet urged him forward as the hallway stretched farther. He didn’t remember it being this long earlier. Or quite so dark.

Suddenly, he saw a light ahead. But it wasn’t the light of Craig’s bathroom. It looked almost like a campfire. Then he realized that the walls of the hallways were slowly turning to trees. As Tweek inched closer to the light, the trees opened up to a massive clearing. He could see the moon. He thought, his mind slow and confused,

_’Why is the moon in Craig's house?'_

"Who the hell are you?" A man with a gruff voice asked, sounding startled.

Tweek froze up, realizing that a bunch of people had materialized around the campfire. His stomach knotted when he realized that they were all wearing black robes with hoods. _'What is this?'_ He didn't understand.

"Somebody grab that kid!" All at once, Tweek was very aware that he wasn't sleeping anymore. He started to run, but strong hands struck from behind and gripped his arms like tight vices, holding him in place. His heart was beating so fast that he could barely think straight. "L--let me g--go!" He squawked, struggling against the person holding him there.

"Not gonna happen, kid." The gruff man said, before asking loudly, "So what are we supposed to do with him?"

An exasperated man replied, "Bring him over here? How about that? Can you handle that?"

"You don't have to be a bitch about it." The man muttered, before dragging Tweek to the center of the crowd of people. He was terrified. Their hoods completely covered all their faces so he couldn't see anything about these people, other than their eyes. And everyone was staring intently at him.

_'Oh god. What the hell is this? I thought I was asleep. Did I sleepwalk out here? Oh god.'_

The exasperated man interrupted the string of frantic thoughts in his head, asking, "So tell me. How did you find us?"

"I was s--ss--sleepwalking!" Tweek stammered, offering them the only explanation that made sense to him.

"A likely story!" The gruff man interrupted accusingly.

The exasperated man rolled his eyes. "It's fifty degrees outside and the kid's in his fucking pajamas. Why the hell else would he be out here?"

"Maybe he's got some mental problems?" The gruff man offered.

"Or how about this? Maybe you're just an idiot." The exasperated man replied sarcastically.

Tweek couldn't help it. His anxiety level was so high that he started freaking out. "P--please let m--me g--go. I have to g--g--go. Oh g--god."

"Afraid I can't do that, kid." The exasperated man said. "Two reasons for that. One, you know too much."

"B--but I don't know anything!" Tweek exclaimed. "I don't even k--know what you're d--doing!"

"Oh that's easy. This is a cult. We're having our monthly meeting." The exasperated man pointed at Tweek. "See? Now you know too much."

"Oh god!" Tweek wanted to yank on his hair but the gruff man still had a hold on his arms.

The exasperated man continued, "And the second reason is, this is a cult. So obviously we make sacrifices to our great leader. We were supposed to have a sacrifice here already, but someone," he shot a dirty look at the gruff man. "Forgot it was their turn to bring one. So, it looks like you're it."

"I'm w--w--what?!" Tweek shrieked.

"Look, it's nothing personal. Just a wrong place, wrong time sort of thing. You understand, right?" The exasperated man said, snapping his fingers.

Tweek opened his mouth to scream, but someone shoved a gag in his mouth, tying it tight against the back of his head before he had a chance. He tried to struggle, but it was just no use. The gruff man was infinitely stronger than him. Before he knew what was happening, the gruff man had picked him up and carried him over to some weird table. To Tweek's horror, he realized it was a makeshift altar.

_'Oh my god. I'm gonna die.'_

He didn't know what to do. He couldn't run. He couldn't call for help. He was too weak to fight back. There were no options for him. They were going to kill him. The gruff man held him down while two other people wrapped thick ropes around him, tying him securely to the altar. He couldn't help it. He was trembling.

Suddenly, a nearby man spoke, sounding nervous, "We really shouldn't be messing with this kid."

The exasperated man replied, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"He's got some seriously bad energy around him."

The exasperated man said, "Johnson, you're so paranoid all the time. It's really starting to annoy me."

"Look man, I'm serious!" The nervous man insisted. "You don't want to mess with him. He's bad news. I can feel it."

Tweek thought, feeling incredulous, _'Bad news? I'm the one tied to their freaking altar and I'm bad news?'_

"Oh for the love of...you know what, fuck your feelings. The kid already knows what we're doing. He's gotta go either way. Now quit your bitching."

"Man, fuck you! Look, you do whatever you want but count me out of it. I'm getting the hell out of here."

Tweek heard the nervous man storm off, crunching leaves under his feet as he went. He couldn't help but wonder if the guy was right. Did he have bad energy around him? How did he even get that? And why was he focusing on that point when he was tied to a sacrificial altar? He wasn't sure.

The exasperated man called after him, "Fuck you too then! See if our dark lord Cthulhu honors your ass after you leave like a pussy!" With another exasperated sigh, he said, "Fucking bitch. I can't stand his ass, I swear."

A man with a country accent said, "You should just kick him out. If he can't handle a little human sacrifice, then he shouldn't be in a cult."

A confused man pondered, "Can you even kick someone out of a cult?"

The country man replied casually, "Well sure you can! How do you think Leah Remini's out there, flapping her jaws about Scientology?"

The confused man asked, "Is Scientology a cult?"

"Eh, might as well be."

"But wait," the confused man interjected. "Didn't she leave the Scientologists though? I don't think they kicked her out."

The exasperated man snapped angrily, "Oh for the love of God, will the two of you shut your pie holes?"

The confused man stage-whispered, "Is he even allowed to mention God in the middle of cult meetings?"

Tweek heard the sound of something being opened, followed by the sharp sound of metal. Then the exasperated man said, "Pipe down, Clark! Or I swear the next person getting sacrificed is you!"

There was some apologetic murmuring. Tweek wished he could see what was going on, but they had him tied down so tightly that he couldn't even turn his head. Finally, the exasperated man came into view and Tweek took back his previous wish. He didn't want to see what was going on. Because the exasperated man had a knife. A fucking HUGE knife. Tweek thought morbidly that the knife was big enough to slice all the way through him and pin him to the altar below.

Tweek screamed, even though he knew that the gag would muffle his terrified noises. He couldn't help it. What else was he supposed to do?

The exasperated man gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. Tweek stared at him with wide, horrified eyes. "There, there kid. Sorry it's taking so long. I usually like to be punctual about these things. But don't worry, it'll be over soon."

_'My life. My life will be over soon.'_

Tweek's mind flashed to Craig, who was sleeping soundly in his bed at home. He would wake up in the morning and Tweek wouldn't be there. Tweek felt a pang of regret, knowing that Craig would never know what happened to him. He wanted to cry.

"Shall we begin?" The exasperated man asked, coming to stand on Tweek's left side, facing the other cultists. He could hear them move closer, crowding around the altar.

Tweek closed his eyes. He didn't want these people to be the last thing he ever saw. As he did so, a strange feeling of comfort washed over him, warming his body like a hot cup of coffee. Despite the fact that he was tied to a sacrificial altar in the middle of the woods, surrounded by people who intended to kill him, Tweek was at peace.

"Who would like to recite the incantation?" The exasperated man asked the group. But before any of them had a chance to respond, a woman's rich, smoky voice responded,

"I would."

"Who the hell are you?" The exasperated man sounded so bewildered that it compelled Tweek to open his eyes. He couldn't see much, but he noticed that the exasperated man was looking past the group. And he looked confused.

"Does it matter who I am?" She replied. Tweek recognized now that she had an accent.

The exasperated man said, "Hell yes it does. You're the second person to find us tonight. And that's not okay with me!"

"How unfortunate for you then, seeing as I don't plan on telling you anything." The woman told him pleasantly.

"Oh you will." The exasperated man snapped. "Or else I'll..."

The woman cut him off, saying with an amused tone, "You'll what? Oh do tell me. I’m just dying to hear." She waited, giving him a chance to respond. But he didn't. So she continued, scoffing at him, "Don't make me laugh. You have no power here."

"Yes I do! I serve the dark lord Cthulhu! I have great power!" The exasperated man insisted, clearly angry with her.

Now the woman did laugh. "Unfortunately for you, poor, misguided idiot, my power is greater." Her tone became syrupy sweet as she said, "And I have my own incantation."

She began to speak in a language that Tweek didn't know. Her syrupy sweet voice was gone, replaced by cold, dark intent. Tweek's skin crawled.

"What the hell are you doing?" The exasperated man cried. "What the hell are you..."

Suddenly, a knife appeared out of the darkness, pressed flush against the exasperated man's neck. Before Tweek knew what was happening, warm blood flooded from the gaping wound in the man's throat, splashing over Tweek's face. He couldn't turn away so he immediately closed his eyes, trying to keep the blood out of them. His stomach turned at the smell of it. The woman was still chanting, but added to the mix now were the sounds of screaming.

Tweek tightly squeezed his eyes closed. He didn't want to see what was happening, even though he could hear everything. Every anguished cry. Every throaty burble. The frantic people trying to escape, even though there was no use. Tweek want to run too, but the ropes holding him down were too tight, too secure. He was helpless and terrified, surrounded by people who were being murdered, and unable to get away. His skin crawled when he realized that he would join them soon.

Honestly, he knew he would die someday, everyone would, but he never thought it would be like this. And he certainly didn't think it would be now. He wasn't ready. He thought again of Craig. Hot tears spilled down his face, but he didn't dare open his eyes.

_'Not like this. Oh god. Please not like this.'_

He heard leaves crunch on the ground beside him. His hands shook against his restraints. He mentally scrambled, trying to think of a moment…any good moment in his life to remember. Anything so he wouldn’t have to die consumed by fear. But as he thought, something unexpected happened.

“Dear One.” The woman said, her voice coming out in a sigh of relief. She pulled the gag out of his mouth and he took a deep, shuddering breath of air.

_‘I don’t understand. What’s happening?’_

Then, cold fingers touched his cheek and he immediately tensed up, his body tight with fear. He managed to stammer out, voice rough and dry, “P—please. Please d—dd--don’t hurt m—me.”

The cold fingers stroked his face in a strangely tender way. The woman asked, voice soothing, “Why would I hurt you?”

Tweek couldn’t answer. He was scared and confused, unsure of why this unknown, terrifying woman was being so gentle with him. What did she want?

“Look at me.” She instructed him, not demanding but urging.

For reasons he didn’t understand, Tweek opened his eyes. At first, his vision swam in the darkness, but then as his eyes adjusted to the moonlight, he saw her. He could see that she was tall and elegant, with long, dark hair. But he couldn’t stop staring at her bright, green eyes. They were so vibrant that they didn’t seem real. Then she smiled at him, looking amused. Tweek realized that he’d been staring for too long. He flushed, wishing that he had kept his eyes closed. What if she decided to kill him just for looking at her? Maybe it was all a trick?

“S-sorry.” He said, scared to say anything else.

“Whatever are you sorry for? You aren’t at fault here.” Her expression darkened. Cold chills ran down Tweek’s back. “They are.”

Then she turned her attention to someone nearby and commanded, “Come here. Now.”

Tweek watched as one of the masked people stepped into his line of sight, at the end of the altar. He saw the blood and gore smeared over his robe and wanted to throw up. He actively refused to think about the blood soaking through his pajamas right now or he would definitely throw up. Then Tweek noticed that the masked person had a knife in his hand. He felt decidedly vulnerable, still tied to this altar.

The woman said, “Have you done what I told you to do?”

“Yes, they are all dead.” The man replied, his voice empty. Tweek recognized him as the nervous one from before, who had left the group. The one who said he had bad energy.

“Even the ones who managed to get away from you?” She pressed. “I won’t tolerate any mistakes.”

The man nodded. “Yes. I killed every last one of them.”

Tweek suddenly shivered, but it had nothing to do with the chilly October air.

She seemed satisfied with his response. Then her mouth curved into a malicious smile. “Good. Now join them.”

Before Tweek even had a chance to process what she meant, the nervous man raised the knife in the air. Tweek watched in horror as the man plunged the knife into his stomach. He gave an intense grunt of pain, his eyes empty as he stared at the green-eyed woman.

“S—stop! Please stop!” Tweek cried, struggling against his bonds. He couldn’t bear to see this man suffer like this.

But the nervous man did not stop. He stabbed again, thrusting the knife in deeper. New blood mingled with the blood already on his robe. The man sounded like he was trying to speak, but all that came out was gurgling. Tweek went limp, unable to struggle anymore, and started to cry.

The woman knelt beside Tweek and whispered to him, “I wouldn’t let them hurt you. This is their punishment for trying.”

“But he d—didn’t do anything.” Tweek sobbed, hot tears running down his face.

“My point exactly. He did nothing as they tied you to this altar. Nothing at all to help you. Worst of all, he left you here to die. He didn’t even have the decency to watch.” She smiled cruelly. “But this time, we’ll do him one better, won’t we? We’ll do nothing, just as he did. Only we will watch him die.”

Then she turned her attention back to the nervous man, whose stabbing had gotten steadily weaker. She said loudly, “If you would prefer to die slower, I can make that happen.”

Tweek couldn’t look. He stared at the night sky and cried, trying to block out the nervous man’s pained groans. All he wanted right now was to be back in Craig’s room and out of this nightmare. Suddenly, his body felt heavy, like he had a weighted blanket on top of him. He could barely keep his eyes open. He wondered if he was about to faint. As he had this thought, the world went steadily dark around him and the dying man, the terrifying woman, and the dead cultists surrounding them were gone.

~

Tweek’s whole body was warm. He felt so comfortable here, curled up under his pile of blankets. He wanted to stay here forever. Then he became aware of something. His whole body was warm, but it was unusually warm at his back. He wondered why that was. Slowly, he reached his hand behind him, exploring for the answer. His fingers touched warm skin. Tweek froze up instantly.

_‘Someone’s there. Oh my god. What do I do?’_

“Tweek.” A low voice, thick with sleep, said from behind him.

“C—Craig?” Tweek said nervously, barely daring to speak.

“Yeah.” Craig replied, still sounding sleepy.

There were many questions that Tweek wanted to ask, but he settled for, “Why are you on the f—floor?”

“You were having a bad dream.” Craig told him matter of factly. He was quiet for a moment, like he was thinking about something. Then he said, “I can move if you want.”

Tweek shook his head. Being alone was the last thing he wanted right now. “No. P—please stay.”

“Okay.” Craig curled back up against Tweek, muttering quietly, “Go back to sleep.”

“O—okay.” Tweek agreed, but inside it was a different story. How was he supposed to sleep knowing that Craig was right there? It had been easy before, when Craig was sleeping in his own bed and he was on the floor. But now? He could feel Craig’s body heat behind him. He was grateful that they were under separate blankets. There was no way he could fall asleep if they were under the same one. But still, he wasn’t sure he could get to sleep like this. Then, he remembered something.

_‘Craig said that I had a nightmare. I wonder what it was…'_

He paused mid-thought. Horrible images suddenly flooded his mind and he remembered everything. The cult in the woods, the woman showing up to save him, and everyone dying around him. Tweek shakily pulled the blanket back, staring down at his pajamas, expecting blood all over them. But there was no blood. On top of that, his pajamas were different from the ones he initially wore to bed.

_‘Did I change?’_

He couldn’t remember doing that. But he also couldn’t remember how he got back here. He was incredibly confused.

_‘What happened? Was it like Craig said? Did I really just dream all that?’_

Tweek was torn. On one hand, he wanted to look for the bloody pajamas. He wanted to know so badly if the nightmare had been real or not. On the other hand, he could feel Craig’s warmth as he lay curled up next to him, sleeping peacefully. He didn’t ask for this, but he knew he would be an idiot if he let this moment slip through his fingers. So he slid farther under his blanket, closing his eyes as he tried to block out all his frantic thoughts. Instead of worrying, he focused intently on Craig’s steady breathing, trying to lull himself back to sleep. Whatever might or might not have happened could wait until the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Can't wake up in a sweat  
> 'Cause it ain't over yet  
> Still dancing with your demons  
> Victim of your own creation"  
> \--Avenged Sevenfold, Nightmare 
> 
> Love, Holly.


	9. Monsters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning to you. There is child abuse at the end of this chapter. I was upset having to write this so I wanted to make sure you know ahead of time. As much as I hate writing this stuff, it's important for the story. I did leave a warning before the scene so please proceed with caution.
> 
> Also, I take forever to update. I'm sure you know that. Howeeeeeeeeeever, this chapter is 20 pages long, according to Microsoft Word. So... ^_^

Craig woke up way earlier than he liked. He never was and would never be a morning person. So for him to wake up before the alarm on his phone, before the sun was even up…well, he wasn’t happy about it. He stared at the ceiling, willing his body to go back to sleep. No luck.

  
“Damn it.” He said quietly.

  
“You’re awake too?” Tweek murmured.

  
Craig shifted his gaze from the ceiling to the boy beside him. Tweek had rolled over under his blanket and was looking at him with sleepy eyes.

  
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I’m not supposed to be up for another hour.”

  
“D—did you sleep okay?”

  
Craig shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

  
“Probably way better than I did.” Tweek commented, sounding hesitant.

  
Then Craig remembered what happened last night and immediately tensed up. _‘Oh shit. What did I do?’_

  
He had been asleep. He was sure of it. He remembered the sudden feeling of overwhelming terror. He knew it wasn’t his. He reached out with his power, even in his sleep, trying to find the source. He found Tweek. He wasn’t sure how he knew it was him, but he did. Tweek’s emotions were incredibly strong and potent. Craig unconsciously knew he was having a bad dream. He touched the emotions surrounding Tweek, willing him to be calm. All at once, he felt his terror shift into peace.

  
_‘I changed Tweek’s emotions.’_ Craig was dumbfounded at this thought. _‘I’ve never been able to do that before. With anyone.’_

“Craig?”

He broke out of his thoughts, giving his attention to the other boy. Tweek looked concerned. He asked, “Is everything okay?”

  
Craig didn’t know what to say. He was going to sound crazy if he asked, but he knew he needed to. “You had a bad dream last night, right?”

  
Tweek nodded slowly. “Y—yeah. But I still don’t k—know how you…”

  
Craig interrupted him, trying urgently to get this out before he lost the nerve. “When you were dreaming, did you…” He paused, trying to find the right way to word this. “Did you feel something? Something you weren’t expecting?”

  
Tweek looked confused. “I don’t know. I m—mean, it was a bad dream so I was s—scared. And…” Tweek trailed off, staring at Craig with wide eyes.

  
“What?” Craig pressed him. “What is it?”

  
“I was scared, but then all of a sudden I wasn’t. I was c—calm. It was like, l—like I wasn't alone.”

  
Craig flushed at the realization on Tweek’s face. The blonde boy continued, sounding almost confident. “It was you, w—wasn’t it, Craig? You made me calm.”

  
He nodded. “Yeah. But I don’t know how I did it. I’ve never been able to do that before.”

  
“I’m the only one?” Tweek whispered, clearly surprised.

  
“Yeah. I’ve only ever been able to feel people’s emotions. I’ve never been able to change them.” He observed Tweek, trying to think about why he was able to affect him that way. “Maybe it’s because you have a gift too?”

  
Tweek scoffed. “It’s not a gift though. More like a c—curse. And I’m not even sure it’s real. It could all just be in my head.”

  
“How do you explain it then?” Craig asked. He was genuinely curious about this. What was it about Tweek that was so different?

  
Tweek shrugged, suddenly sheepish. “I don’t k—know.”

  
Craig backtracked a little as he realized something. “I’m sorry.”

  
“For what?” Tweek looked confused.

  
“For reading your emotions. I never want to know what you’re feeling unless you say it’s okay. I didn’t mean to do what I did last night. I just…” Craig didn’t know where to go from here. How could he explain the sudden urgency of dealing with Tweek’s fear? He couldn’t have just ignored it. It was too strong, too invasive for him to push it to the side.

  
“You don’t need to apologize.” Tweek said sincerely. “I’m glad you helped me.”

  
“Are you sure?”

  
He nodded. “Yeah. I was terrified. I didn’t know what to do.”

  
Craig asked curiously, “So what were you dreaming about?”

  
With a shudder, Tweek told him, “I was walking in the w—woods and I ran into this cult. They were going to use me as a human sacrifice. But then, this w—woman rescued me from them.” He shivered. “She was the scariest p—part, honestly. And she had c—crazy eyes. They were bright green and they didn’t look r—real.”

  
An icy knot formed in Craig’s stomach. He remembered the night he walked home from Token’s house and encountered the woman with the green eyes. He could still picture the way her jaw opened wide as she lunged towards him.

  
“Craig? What’s wrong?” Tweek broke off from his story, looking concerned.

  
“Did she have black hair?” He asked hesitantly.

  
Tweek looked surprised. “Y—yeah.”

  
“And did she have an accent?”

  
“How did you…” Tweek paused, staring at Craig with wide eyes.

  
Craig switched gears and said, “You know how I was in the park yesterday? And I said I was just taking a walk?”

  
Tweek nodded.

  
“That was a lie.”

  
“So what w—were you doing then?”

  
“Looking for evidence.”

  
“Of what?”

  
“The person I met. A woman with green eyes. And black hair. And an accent.”

  
Tweek stared at him. “You’re j—joking, right?”

  
Craig shook his head. “No.”

  
“W—what happened?”

  
Craig told Tweek about the whole encounter, sparing no detail. Tweek’s eyes somehow managed to get wider as he listened. Craig found himself grateful that Tweek didn't immediately call him crazy. Though, considering everything Tweek saw each day, it made sense he would believe.

  
“And she j—just disappeared? Just like that?” 

  
“Yeah. That’s why I thought I was imagining things. I couldn’t find anything at the park either so I didn’t know what to think.” Craig said evenly.

  
“But—but I saw her too.” Tweek interjected. He visibly stiffened before he said, “Does that mean that she’s r—real?”

  
Craig wanted to tell him no but he knew that he couldn’t. It was impossible that they could both have imagined the same person without talking about it. But if what happened was true, then she really did attack him the other night. And Tweek actually was out in the woods. Craig paused, a feeling of horror growing inside him.

  
“Tweek, if she is real, then that means your dream last night wasn’t a dream.”

  
Craig watched, as Tweek grew paler than he thought possible. “C—Craig. If that really happened…if it wasn’t a dream. She—she killed them. The people in the c—cult. I had their b—b—blood all over me.”

  
“So where did the blood go?” Craig asked, more to himself than Tweek.

  
“C—can we check the laundry room? Maybe I ch—changed clothes?” Tweek suggested nervously. Craig could see that Tweek was shaken by this sudden revelation. He was too. Granted, crazy shit always happened in South Park. This town pulled crazy shit in for reasons he didn’t understand. But this? It was a whole different level of crazy.

  
Craig nodded. “Might as well, since we’re already up.”

  
The two boys crawled out from under the warmth of their blankets, before slipping quietly out of Craig’s room and down the stairs. It was nearly six in the morning, which meant that his Mom and Tricia would be up in another thirty minutes or so. For some reason, Craig had a strange urge to do their task as quickly as possible.

  
_‘I don’t want my Mom to worry. If there really are bloody clothes in the house and she finds them, who knows what she’ll do.’_

  
They walked down the basement stairs, which led to their storage space for useless junk and their makeshift laundry room. Craig immediately checked the washer, flipping the lid up to stare inside. Empty, of course.

  
“Well, I f—found my clothes from yesterday, but n—no sign of the pajamas.” Tweek said, standing up from his crouching position in front of the dryer.

  
“Do you remember anything about where you might have put them?” Craig asked.

  
Tweek shook his head. “No. I don’t even r—remember how I got back here last n—night. I just woke up on the floor like n—nothing happened. That’s why I thought it was a d—dream.”

  
Then Craig had a thought. “Would you have thrown them away?”

  
“M—maybe?” Tweek looked nervous. “Not on purpose or anything. I mean, they’re yours so I would n—never do it on p—purpose. I just…”

  
But Craig wasn’t really listening to what Tweek was saying. His mind moved to focus on the objective at hand. If he were Tweek, where would he have thrown away the pajamas? He zeroed in on the old trashcan in the corner. If he were Tweek, sleep walking and trying to get rid of something, he thought that this would be the place. Craig could feel Tweek’s eyes on him as he went to open the dusty, forgotten can. He peered down into it and let out a soft, involuntary gasp.

  
“C—Craig?” Tweek came to stand beside Craig, directing his attention into the trash can. “Oh g—g—god.”

  
Craig’s old tee shirt and sweat pants were in a bloody ball, looking so strange on top of all the crushed, soda cans. Craig didn’t know why his Mom insisted on keeping them. He thought maybe she was saving them for recycling, but just never got around to it.

  
“It r—rr—really happened. Oh god oh god.” Tweek’s voice was barely audible. He looked like he might pass out so Craig quickly put a steadying arm around him. The blonde boy stared at him with wide, scared eyes. “F—fuck. What the f—fuck is going on?”

  
“I don’t know.” He told him honestly. He wanted to comfort Tweek in some way, but he was also very aware of the time. His Mom and Tricia would be up any minute. They didn’t have a second to waste. So he said, “You can’t freak out right now. We don’t have time. We have to get rid of this before my Mom finds out.”

  
“What—what do we do?” Tweek asked, frazzled.

  
Craig said, trying to sound calm, “You take your clothes upstairs and get ready for school. I’ll get rid of these.”

  
“But C—Craig, your clothes? You’re throwing away your clothes?”

  
Craig knew that Tweek was stuck on this because his brain was still in shock. He remembered learning something about this in psych class once. It was your brain’s way of dealing with trauma, distracting you from the real issue in an attempt to protect you.

  
“They’re old anyways. Don’t worry about it.” He pulled Tweek’s clothes out of the dryer, pushing them into his arms. “Go upstairs. Take a shower. Everything is fine.”

  
“O—okay.” Tweek seemed to be on autopilot as he walked up the basement steps.

Craig knew he would have to check on him again once he was done here. But for the moment, he focused on disposing of the evidence. It sounded pretty bad when he thought about it that way, so he decided not to. His eyes darted around the room, searching for some way to discreetly transport the bloody pajamas. Then his eyes landed on a ratty backpack he hadn’t used in years. His Mom kept asking him to throw it away, but he was relieved now that he didn’t.

  
_‘If Mom is up and asks what I’m doing, I’ll just tell her that I’m finally throwing it out. That’ll work.’_

  
He felt like he was doing something wrong, hiding this from her. But what would he even say? How could he explain it? Oh sorry, Mom. Don’t mind me. Just throwing away these pajamas. Why are they covered in blood? Oh, it’s no big deal. Tweek was sleepwalking in the middle of the night and ended up in a crime scene. Everything’s fine.

  
Yeah, that would go over so well.

Craig shoved the pajamas inside the backpack and zipped it up, before quickly taking the stairs two at a time. Once he was upstairs, he immediately headed for the front door. He couldn’t risk throwing the backpack away in the kitchen trash, not with the possibility of his Mom finding it there. The trashcan outside was the safest bet. He doubted she would have any reason to look through it, especially since he was the one that put the trash out by the street each week. He gingerly pulled the top bag of trash out of the way and set the backpack underneath it, then covered it up as best he could. From what he could see, the backpack was completely hidden.

  
Craig took a deep breath, then released it. He was still nervous about something going wrong with his plan, but he felt more at ease now.

  
_‘I should probably check on Tweek.’_ He thought, before he turned to go back inside the house.

Once inside, he glanced at the clock on the wall. 6:20. Nearly time for his Mom and Trish to get up. With quiet steps, he walked up the stairs, listening to the sound of the shower running. He peered into his bedroom just to check, but it was empty. And he didn’t hear anyone else moving around upstairs, so Tweek had to be the one in the bathroom.

  
Craig sat down on his bed, releasing another deep breath that he didn’t realize he’d been holding. This whole situation had him on edge, which was not normal for him. Honestly, he didn’t know what to do now. Whatever happened to Tweek had been real. He went sleepwalking into a real life nightmare. Not only had that happened but Craig also manipulated Tweek’s emotions. He was still floored by that fact. He couldn’t help but wonder what was so different about the blonde boy. Why was he able to affect Tweek in a way that he couldn’t with anyone else? He thought it had something to do with their gifts, but he wasn’t sure. He was still lost in thought when he heard the sound of his bedroom door closing. He glanced up, noticing the blonde boy standing nearby.

  
“There was b—blood in the shower.” Tweek said quietly.

  
Craig’s heart skipped a beat. He was thanking his foresight to tell Tweek to take a shower. Because if he hadn’t, then his Mom would have seen the blood. Or Tricia even. He didn’t want to think about what could have happened.

  
“D—don’t worry. I washed it down the drain.” Tweek reassured him.

  
“Are you okay?” Craig asked, taking in the other boy’s appearance. Other than his hair, which was wet from the shower, he still seemed like the same old Tweek. However, he wasn’t acting the same. Somehow, between the basement and now, Tweek had calmed down.

  
Tweek nodded. “Yeah.”

  
Craig wondered if this was another phase of Tweek’s brain protecting him from trauma. Instead of panicking over things that didn’t matter, now he was just numb to it all. Honestly, Craig didn’t blame him.

  
“I got rid of the pajamas.” He said, not sure of what else to say.

  
Tweek nodded solemnly. “Good.”

  
“Are you sure you’re alright? You were really upset downstairs.” Craig never thought he’d be wondering why Tweek was calm. That hadn’t ever seemed like a possibility. But here he was, concerned that the usually twitchy, panicked boy was acting perfectly fine. This seemed like backwards logic, but whatever.

  
“I just…just don’t know how to feel right now.” Tweek replied finally. He shivered then and said, “Honestly, I’m trying not to think about it.”

  
Craig nodded. He understood that feeling. He knew that eventually they would have to talk about what had happened, but not now. Tweek needed space between himself and the events of this morning.  
He replied, “Okay. We won’t think about it then.”

  
He started to move towards his dresser, intending to pick out clothes for today. On the way, Tweek tentatively reached out to touch his wrist, almost like he was scared to touch him, and said,  
“Thank you.”

  
Craig turned to look at the other boy. “For what?”

  
“You took care of me. While you were sleeping and…” Tweek gestured around, clearly trying to say something without saying it. “Earlier. Thank you for doing that.”

  
Craig didn’t exactly understand why Tweek was thanking him for what he did. He was looking out for him. Wasn’t that what friends were supposed to do? He was sure Token and Clyde and Jimmy would do the same thing. But maybe Tweek didn’t understand that? So he told him, “You’re my friend. That’s what friends do.”

  
Tweek looked surprised for a moment, but the surprise faded into a soft expression that Craig couldn’t quite place. “Yeah. Friends.”

  
Before Craig had time to examine Tweek’s reaction, the blonde boy said, “I’m g—gonna go make coffee.” Then he disappeared out of Craig’s room like a flash.

  
~

Later at school, Tweek was switching out books from his locker in between classes. He decided to focus entirely on school today, if only so he didn’t have to think about what happened last night. He was about to switch his class binders out when a familiar voice said from behind him,

  
“Well hello there.”

  
Tweek nearly jumped out of his skin. With wide eyes, he turned to stare at Kenny. The other boy was standing there as casual as could be, his hood pulled up over his head, and smiling pleasantly, like he hadn’t just given him a mini heart attack.

  
“Jesus! Could you b—be any quieter?” He snapped, his heart pounding a mile a minute.

  
Kenny grinned, not looking the least bit sorry. “Didn’t scare you, did I?”

  
Tweek rolled his eyes in response. “W—what do you think?”

  
He went back to switching out his books, while Kenny proceeded to lounge against the locker beside his. Tweek wasn’t sure why Kenny was there at all. Did he have a reason to be there? Or did he just enjoy showing up in random places and acting like it was perfectly normal for him to be there? He really had no idea.

  
“So I have good news for you.” Kenny told him, smiling like he had a secret.

  
Tweek raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah? What’s that?”

  
“I found someone who can help you.”

  
“With what?”

  
Kenny looked at him like he should already know. “Duh. Your ability?”

  
Tweek’s stomach coiled into a nervous knot. “Oh. That.”

  
He was suddenly very interested in the loose papers scattered in his locker. He didn’t want to think about his ability. Part of him wished that he could forget about it and if he did, then maybe it would go away. Unfortunately, no such luck.

  
“You can’t make it disappear by ignoring it, you know.” Kenny said, reading his mind like an open book. It was eerie how he did that.

  
“I can try.” He muttered.

  
Kenny nodded, sounding nonchalant as he said, “Sure you can. I could pretend I’m normal too. But then I’d get run over by some old person who shouldn’t be driving anymore and poof. I’m in hell again.” He turned serious. “You can’t run away from this, Tweek. It’s something you have to face.”

  
“What do you expect me to do about it?” Tweek retorted, eyes snapping towards Kenny. He couldn't help the irritation rising in him. Seriously, it wasn't like they had self-help books for shit like this.

  
“Meet with my friend.” Kenny said, settling back against the locker with the same casual air. “She can help you.”

  
Tweek sighed, exasperated. “How?”

  
“She can teach you how to control what you can do. So maybe it won’t just randomly happen to you anymore. Then you can choose when to use it.”

  
Tweek considered the idea. Being able to control this—this thing was an alluring prospect. If only so he didn’t have random freakouts in the middle of class anymore. Then maybe he could pretend he was normal, at least for a little while. He liked that thought very much.

  
With a hesitant tone, he asked, “When would I meet her?”

  
Kenny’s smile widened. “Do you actually want to?”

  
Tweek shrugged. “Maybe. Haven’t decided yet.”

  
“Well, if you did want to meet her, she’s not in town yet. But she will be soon. And I could let you know as soon as she does get here.” Kenny raised an eyebrow at him. “Would you be interested in that?”

  
“Okay.” Tweek nodded. “I think so.”

  
Kenny opened his mouth to reply, but then a nearby door opened. A sudden burst of chilly air flew through and jostled them. Tweek huddled against his locker to avoid the cold, but before Kenny could join him, the wind knocked his hood back. Tweek barely got a chance to look before Kenny hurriedly pulled it up, but it was enough.

  
“Kenny, are you okay?”

  
“Hmm?” Kenny replied, sounding unruffled by what had just occurred. “Oh sure, why wouldn’t I be?”

  
“There’s a bruise on your cheek.” Tweek pointed out.

  
There was the slightest change on Kenny’s face. Not everyone would notice it, but Tweek did. He caught the fear that seeped through Kenny’s easygoing mask because he knew that fear himself. But immediately, Kenny shifted back. “Yeah, just playing football with the guys. Got decked in the face on accident. You know how it goes.”

  
The lie was so smooth that Tweek could have believe it. In fact, he might have believed it if he hadn’t seen the fear on Kenny’s face. He stared intently at the taller boy and asked, “Why are you lying to me?”

  
Kenny still acted carefree, but the way he looked at Tweek was different. He was intent now, like Tweek believing his lie was important for some reason. “Why would I lie to you? It was just an accident. That’s it.”

  
Without hesitating, Tweek said, “You don’t have to pretend with me.” He hesitated before adding, “Please. I really wish you wouldn’t.”

  
Because, for some reason he didn’t understand, it was important for Kenny to be honest with him. He needed that desperately.

  
Kenny eyed him with a curious expression. Tweek wondered if he was considering what he had just said. He hoped so. Finally, Kenny replied, “Maybe I’ll tell you someday. But not now.”

  
Tweek opened his mouth to protest but Kenny cut him off, “What? Are you gonna lay all your cards on the table too?”

  
They both knew that Tweek wasn’t going to do that. So he closed his mouth and turned back to his locker, trying not be frustrated with Kenny for making things so difficult. He was just concerned for him. That was all. That’s what friends were supposed to do. At least, he thought Kenny was his friend. But maybe he thought wrong. What did he know about friendship anyways?

  
Kenny leaned against the locker beside Tweek’s and whispered quietly, “I know you care. I appreciate that. Just…can you let it go for now? Please?”

  
Tweek glanced up at the taller boy. The way Kenny intently stared at him made his stomach do a nervous flip. He hated that Kenny had that effect on him. Tweek’s eyes slid from the bruise on Kenny’s cheek and back to his pleading, blue eyes.

  
_‘Damn it, I can’t help it. Not when he looks at me like that.'_

With a sigh, he said, “Okay.”

  
Kenny slipped his hand over Tweek’s, giving it a gentle squeeze. His heart beat faster at the gesture. “Thank you. I’ll let you know when my friend’s in town.”

  
With a smile, Kenny walked away. Not for the first time and certainly not the last, Tweek watched him go.

  
~

Lunchtime would probably never be an easy thing for Tweek, but it certainly was getting less hard. He didn’t have to eat by himself in an empty classroom anymore, for one. Plus, he had people to sit with and a place at their table. That was the closest he had gotten to belonging anywhere in a long time. Of course, he didn’t talk much at the lunch table with Craig and his friends, but they didn’t seem to mind.

  
He took a bite of his sandwich, sort of listening to what Clyde was saying, but mostly just thinking about how happy he was to have a decent lunch for once. At first, he had tried not to take the lunch Craig’s Mom had made for him, since he was embarrassed to admit that he didn’t have anything to take. But she insisted on it. Of course, the last thing he wanted was to piss Craig’s Mom off so he finally agreed to take it to school. And man, was he glad for that. Craig’s Mom was an angel.

  
_‘A sandwich without freaking bologna on it. Maybe there is a God.'_

“I seriously don’t get biology. It’s so fucking boring.” Clyde complained, continuing his rant about Biology class.

  
Tweek noticed Craig roll his eyes, but he apparently didn't feel the need to say anything.

  
“You’re not going to be interested in everything you do in school, dude.” Token told him reasonably. “You just have to get it done.”

  
“But why? What’s even the point of learning about freaking cells and…and membranes and all that shit? Why does it matter?” Clyde seemed to be asking the whole group, rather than one specific person.

  
“I don’t get why you’re nnnn—not into learning stuff, Clyde. Chicks d—dig smart dudes.” Jimmy pointed out with a grin.

  
Clyde rolled his eyes. “Right. Girls so want to hear about biology. I haven’t met a single girl who’s been interested in that stuff.”

  
Jimmy shrugged, “I don’t know, have you tried asking B—Bebe?”

  
Clyde gaped at him. “Are you kidding? I can’t get two words out around her, dude.”

  
“Tell her a joke then. Chicks love j—jokes.”

  
Clyde gave him a dubious look as he said, “Right, like you know so much about girls.”

  
“I’ve got mad g—game. You don’t even k—know.” Jimmy wiggled his eyebrows roguishly at Clyde.

  
Pulling them back to the point, Token said, “Look, you have to pass Biology to graduate, Clyde. That’s a reason to care.”

  
“Ugh. But I’d rather do anything other than study Biology. It puts me to sleep. I actually straight up fell asleep on my bio book the other day.” Clyde said, only slightly whining about this.

  
“Too bad you can’t study through osmosis.” Craig commented casually, still focused on his lunch.

  
Clyde looked confused. “Huh? What’s that?”

Craig gave him a sarcastic look. “You would know if you actually studied.”

  
“Please, like I want to do that with my free time.” Clyde scoffed. “I’m not a nerd like some people.”

  
With a smirk, Craig replied, “At least I’m not a dumbass like some people.”

  
Clyde flipped his middle finger in Craig’s direction, saying in an unimpressed tone, “Fuck off, Craig.”

  
Craig raised his middle finger in response, still smirking. “You first.”

  
A small smiled twitched at Tweek’s lips as he watched this scene unfold in front of him. He liked being around Craig and his friends. Even though he hadn’t known them long, it felt like they had all been friends for a long time. It was a nice feeling.

  
“Sup Token!” A voice called.

  
Tweek noticed Token tense up a little beside him. This wasn't usual behavior for him so Tweek watched what happened next with curious eyes. Two boys walked up to their table, completely focused on Token and ignoring the rest of them. The taller of the two said, “Hey dude, super stoked for your party on Friday! Gonna be awesome!”

  
Token replied, clearly faking enthusiasm, “Yeah, should be great!”

  
“Tell me you’ve still got that sweet Foosball table.” The tall boy said, pressing his hands together in a sort of praying gesture.

  
“Yep, sure do.” Token said. Tweek didn’t understand how these guys didn’t recognize that Token wasn’t excited to talk to them. He barely knew Token and he knew that. So why didn’t they?

  
The tall boy and the shorter boy hi-fived and the shorter boy said, “Hell yeah! We’re totally gonna kick ass this time!”

  
“Totally.” Token replied, clearly losing the steam to sound excited.

  
Thankfully, the two boys didn’t seem to notice. They walked off, calling at Token as they left, “See you Friday, dude! Gonna be a rager!”

  
Once they were out of earshot, Token let out a huge sigh. “Fuck my life.”

  
“You know, you’re the only person I know who isn’t excited about their parents letting them throw parties.” Clyde commented, giving Token an odd look.

  
“I don’t want to throw parties.” Token replied, looking at Clyde with irritation. “My parents are the ones who do.”

  
“I’d say you should just tell them no, but we all know how Steve and Linda are.” Craig said, still calmly eating his lunch.

  
Token gave a bitter laugh. “Yeah, they’d still have the party but they wouldn’t invite me.”

  
“But it’s your freaking b—birthday party.” Jimmy pointed out, clearly indignant about this idea. 

  
“Doesn’t matter. They only care about what other people think of them.” Token sighed, going back to his lunch. “Whatever. Just another thing to get through.”

  
“That’s p—pretty shitty.” Tweek didn’t mean to say anything, but the comment slipped out of his mouth anyways. At first, he was panicking about what everyone would think, but then Token gave him a wry smile and his nerves steadied a little.

  
“Yeah, you’re not wrong.” Then Token seemed to think about something. “Hey Tweek, what are you doing on Friday night?”

  
“M—me? Umm…” Tweek thought about it. What did he do on Friday nights? Sit at home and do homework. Drink coffee and stay up way too late. Draw if he could manage to keep his hands steady.

 _'God, I'm so boring.'_  

“Umm…not much.” He finally responded, not willing to divulge anything else. 

  
Token asked curiously, “Do you want to come to my birthday party?”

  
Tweek was surprised. Token wanted him there? He hadn’t expected that. “M—me? Really?”

  
“Yeah. If I have to be stuck with a party I don’t want, I can at least have people there that I want to be around.” Token said with a friendly smile.

  
Tweek had to remember not to gape at Token. He couldn’t think of the last time someone invited him to their birthday party. And Token actually wanted him there. Whoa.

  
“So do you want to?” Token asked again.

  
“Y—yeah, yeah. D—definitely.” Tweek replied quickly, trying not to sound over eager.

  
Token smiled, seeming pleased. “Cool.” Then he turned his attention back to the group. “Well, at least you guys will be there. So maybe my party won’t completely suck.”

  
“Eh, no promises.” Craig said with a wry smile.

  
~ **(WARNING FOR CHILD ABUSE)**

  
Later that day and with school long past, Tweek nervously stood on the back porch of his house, hoping that yesterday could be something his parents forgot. He hoped beyond hope that his outburst at the therapist’s office would be just a blip on their radar. Sometimes, they didn’t notice him. Sometimes he was lucky. He fervently hoped that now was one of those times. When he opened the kitchen door, he listened close to the sounds of the house. But he didn’t hear anything. Not his Mother vacuuming the floors or his Father watching TV in the living room. Nothing.

 _‘Maybe I’ll be lucky today.’_ He thought to himself.

As quietly as he could, Tweek inched his way through the kitchen and peered out into the living room. No one was there. He let out a breath that he didn’t realize he’d been holding. They must not be home. He had a stay of execution, at least. He began to walk through the living room, headed for the stairs. As he passed the door to the basement, he heard something.

_Creak_

He froze in place. It sounded like the basement stairs.

_‘Oh god.’_

His stomach felt like there were a thousand snakes squirming around in there. He thought he might be sick.

_Creak_

This time he knew it was the basement stairs. Someone was on them, walking up them. His mind went wild with terrified thoughts. What if it wasn’t his parents? What if it was someone serial killer that had broken in? He honestly didn’t know which was worse.

_Creak creak_

They were almost at the top of the stairs. Tweek finally summoned the courage and bolted from his spot, headed for the back door. Whoever it was, he couldn’t sit around and wait to find out. He turned the corner and smacked his hip hard against the kitchen table, barely noticing the pain as he scrambled for the door. But as he jiggled the handle, to his horror, the door wouldn’t budge.

“Oh god!” He shrieked, panicking.

He knew the front door was locked with three padlocks, so there was no way out through there. Then he thought about breaking one of the windows in the living room to escape. It seemed like the only solution left so he began searching frantically for something to break the glass. His eyes landed on a coffee mug and he snatched it, rushing for the living room. Without a second thought, he swung the mug into the window, shattering the glass. He was so scared that he didn’t consider that he would cut himself climbing out. Just as he placed his hands on the broken glass to boost himself out, someone grabbed his arm. He started with fear, slicing his hand as he turned to face his assailant.

His heart sank to his stomach at the sight of his Father, boiling with rage. “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Oww.” Tweek cried, trying to pull away from his vice grip. “You’re hurting me.”

“Answer me, Tweek. What the hell are you doing?” His Father replied, not loosening his hold in the slightest.

“I t—thought s--someone was in the house! I t--thought they were going to k—kill me!”

There was no kindness in his Father’s face when he said, “This is just like you. Causing problems because you can’t control yourself.”

His Mother stepped into the living room and Tweek called out to her, hoping for mercy. But he saw the look of disapproval on her face and knew he was done for.

“I’m sorry, dear. I was holding the door so he wouldn’t get out. I didn’t think he would break a window.”

His Father didn’t bother looking at her. He responded with his eyes still firmly glued to Tweek. “It’s not your fault, dear. Our son just can’t seem to control himself. Not the first time this week though, is it?”

Tweek’s blood ran cold. He could barely feel the sharp sting in his palm or the throbbing in his hip. He knew the real pain was about to come.

“Dr. Dionis told us what you did yesterday.” His Mother said, her voice stern. “After all the trouble we went to just to get you that appointment with her. And you messed it up.”

“Haven’t you ruined everything enough already? Or do you have to ruin us here too?” His Father said, seething with anger.

Tweek couldn’t speak. He could barely remember how to breathe. He was shrinking under the combined gazes of his parents, who looked at him like he wasn’t their child, but a blight on their lives. A bug meant for squashing under their shoes. Nothing.

“Please.” He breathed, his voice barely a whisper.

His Father slapped him hard across the face. Tweek involuntarily jerked away, tears springing to his eyes. Someone gave a dark chuckle. He dared to look and saw a woman standing behind his parents, only she wasn’t exactly there. She seemed to flicker in and out of existence. He wondered if she was even really there or if it was just his ability, deciding to work at the worst time possible. He couldn’t really see much about her, besides her broad grin. But he didn’t have more time to think about her, because his Father was suddenly in his face.

“We aren’t doing this again with you.” His Father hissed. “You will not uproot our lives again. You will not destroy what we are trying to build here.”

He wanted to fight back, more than anything. He wanted to say that it wasn’t his fault. He wanted to say that what happened back in Torrance had been an accident. But he couldn’t remember what had really happened. He wanted to defend himself, but he knew he couldn’t.

“You’re going back to see the Doctor, Tweek. And you will not have another outburst like that again.” His Mother said, her voice firm and angry.

More tears streamed down his face. He felt so trapped, unable to extricate himself from this situation, unable to do anything but wait for this to be over. He couldn’t help but wonder why they treated him with such venom. They didn’t used to. They used to forget he existed but sometimes they still acted like they cared. It was only within the past few years that they started hurting him, hating him, wishing he didn’t exist. He didn’t understand why.

Tweek yelped as his Father crushed his arm tighter. In a tight voice, he said, “Tell your Mother yes. That you will do as she says.”

“Y—yes. I w—will.” Tweek stammered out, his voice thick with tears.

“And no more outbursts.” His Father ordered, still pinning him in place with his painful grasp.

Tweek cried, “N—no m—mm—more.”

At last, his Father seemed satisfied. But he still didn’t let go of Tweek’s arm. “You’re going to your room.”

Tweek knew what that meant. He sputtered, panicking, “P—please. I’m s—sorry so s—sorry. I w—w—w I won’t d—do—do it ag—again.” He glanced frantically between his parents, hoping for the smallest bit of kindness. “P—please.”

His Mother sighed, sounding annoyed. “You have to be punished for what you did. You know that.”

Tweek’s crying turned into full on sobbing. He could barely see through the hot tears in his eyes. He wished that his ability wasn’t seeing things. Instead, he wished that he could fly, so he could go somewhere, anywhere, just as long as it was far away from here.

His Father pulled Tweek by the arm, dragging him forcefully out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the second floor. His Mother followed behind them, a silent participant in what was happening. When his bedroom came into view, he panicked and tried to pull away from his Father. But the older man held his arm tight, his fingers bruising as Tweek struggled.

“You will obey me.” He seethed.

Against his will, Tweek’s Father forced him into his room. When saw his Mother hand the stick to his Father, he closed his eyes. Suddenly, he was in another place, a safe place in his mind. No longer trapped in his room by his parents, waiting for them to hurt him. Instead, he was in the forest behind their old house, watching the sunlight glow through the trees on a warm, Saturday afternoon. He still endured the pain, but at a distance. Like the sound of a noise from far away, echoing to him. He held that cherished memory close to his heart and somehow, throughout all of this, it kept him sane.

He heard his Father speak, but he sounded so distant. “Think about that, the next time you decide to do something so selfish.”

There were hands on his back and a sudden, hard push. Then the darkness came. Tweek opened his eyes but the darkness remained. He knew he was in his bedroom closet. Every time they punished him, they put him in here. He hated this. But if he had to choose between his parents or this closet, he knew what his decision would be.

He curled up against the back of the closet, wrapping his arms around his knees like a protective blanket. His hand still stung from the cut glass and he tried to keep his focus off it. There wasn’t anything he could do to fix it in here. He wondered how long they would leave him in here this time. Unwanted tears slipped down his cheeks, a symptom of his overwhelming despair.

_‘This is never going to end, is it?’_

He buried his face into his knees, crying like his heart might break. Maybe it already had.

  
~ **(END WARNING)**

Craig knew something was wrong with Tweek. He had felt it all night, eating away at him like hunger pangs. The intensity of the emotion scared him. That had been enough for him to take a few moments away from Tricia, slipping into the back yard to make a phone call. He had found the Tweak’s home phone number in the town’s online directory so that was easy enough. But no one was picking up. A quick look in the front yard determined that their car was parked in the driveway.

_‘If their car is there, then so are they. Tweek should have been home by now. So why is no one picking up?’_

He thought about walking over to knock on the door, but decided against it. He was supposed to be here, watching Tricia while his Mom finished her shift tonight. She’d be pissed with him if he left her to go over to Tweek’s house. So he attempted the only other thing he could think to do, which was try to send calm feelings to Tweek. He just wished he could remember how he did it before.

_‘But how am I supposed to remember something I did while I was sleeping?’_

He felt so useless. Knowing that Tweek felt like this and he couldn’t do anything about it pissed him off. He continued to try to make his power work, while vowing to go see Tweek later tonight. He would not be able to sleep with Tweek’s emotions affecting him this way.

_‘There has to be something I can do.’_

“Craig, I’m bored.” Tricia whined, interrupting his internal monologue.

Irritated at her interruption, Craig said, “So go turn on the TV or something. I’m busy.”

“Busy with what? Staring at the wall?” She sarcastically waved her hands at him. “Oooooo, so important.”

“You know, you can go at any time. Like now. Go right now.”

“God, you’re such an asshole.” Tricia complained, crossing her arms over her chest as she scowled at him.

“So quit bothering me then.” Craig replied, getting more exasperated by the minute. His Mom asked him to keep an eye on her, but that didn’t mean he was going to entertain her too. Fuck that.

Tricia plopped into the oversize armchair beside him, sighing dramatically. “God, I’m so bored.”

“Don’t you have homework to do?” Craig asked pointedly.

She shot a dirty look at him before she settled even further into the seat, making sure he knew she was making herself comfortable. That was her way of saying fuck you without having to waste her breath. Craig could appreciate that.

“Your friend is weird.” She said out of nowhere.

“Which one?” Craig replied, barely caring to respond.

She huffed. “Oh please, like you don’t know.”

Craig didn’t bother to dignify that comment with a response. Instead, he pulled out his phone to scroll through social media. Anything other than listening to his sister.

“So why is he so weird?” Tricia asked, trying to get his attention again.

“No idea.”

This was a lie, of course. Craig was pretty sure that Tweek was weird because he saw crazy shit all the time. That would make anyone weird. But it wasn’t like he was going to tell Tricia that.

“Haven’t you ever asked?” She pressed him.

“No Trish, I haven’t asked my friend why he’s weird.” Craig asked, starting to get irritated with her.

“That’s lame.” Tricia huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I want to know why.”

Craig shrugged in a non-committal way. “Oh well.”

Then she said, “I bet I could find out.”

“Okay. Can you go be Nancy Drew somewhere else then?”

She rolled her eyes before hopping up out of the chair. “Asshole.”

“Yep.”

Craig waited until he heard her slam her bedroom door. Then he let out a deep breath of relief. Maybe now he could focus on what to do about Tweek.

~

Once his Mom had finally come home from work and everyone had gone to bed, Craig was able to put his plan into motion. If he couldn’t get a hold of Tweek, then he would just have to go to him. He stood in the gap between their houses, eyeing the trellis on the side of the Tweak’s house. He hadn’t climbed one of these since he was much younger, but surely he hadn’t forgotten what to do. Even so, he stared at the distance between the ground and Tweek’s window with trepidation.

_‘It’s just like riding a bike. Quit being a baby.’_

Finally, working up the courage, Craig started to climb. It took him a few tries to remember how he used to climb these things, but slowly it came back to him. Once it did, it took him hardly any time at all to reach Tweek’s window. He wondered how he was going to open it, but then realized that the window was already open.

_‘Weird.’_

It was chilly out, so Craig didn’t understand why Tweek left his window open. But he didn’t allow himself to worry about that, focusing instead on carefully and quietly easing himself into Tweek’s room. He had never been in here before so he took a moment to orient himself, letting his eyes adjust to the dark. As he looked, it struck him how bare it was in here. No pictures, no personal items, just a bed, dresser, and a desk. Like a prison cell, almost. He wondered where the desk chair was and spotted it right when he heard someone whimper.

Craig froze. The desk chair was jammed underneath the closet doorknob.

_‘No. They wouldn’t have.’_

But he heard that whimper again and knew it was true. Tweek was trapped in the closet and his parents had put him there. Craig worked the chair out from under the doorknob, trying to be as quiet as he could. The last thing he needed was for Tweek’s parents to hear him. Finally, the chair was free and he pulled the closet door open.

“Tweek?” He murmured into the dark space.

“C—Craig?” Tweek’s surprised voice replied.

“Yes, it’s me.”

Craig crouched under the hanging clothes, slowly feeling his way towards the back of the closet. His hands touched chilled skin and before he had a chance to speak, Tweek spoke first.

In a voice that was thick with tears, he said, “My p—parents. They—they locked m—me in h—h—here.”

“I know. I saw the chair.”

“W—why do they hate m—me?” Tweek began to sob brokenly.

He sensed Tweek’s misery, a palpable force flowing through him. Craig wished he could remember what he had done last night, if only so he could do it again. He hated seeing his friend like this. But he couldn’t remember, no matter how hard he tried. So instead, he did the only thing he could do. Without hesitation, he reached out and pulled Tweek into his arms, holding him tight.

The smaller boy held onto him just as tightly, his face buried against his shoulder as he cried. If Craig couldn’t make his pain go away, then at least he could remind him that he wasn’t alone in it.

“I’m here, Tweek.” Craig whispered softly to him. “I’m here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll let you in on a little secret. When I first wrote this chapter, I intended to end it with Tweek trapped in the closet, alone. However, as I wrote it out, I was overwhelmed with despair. And since my name isn't Junko Enoshima, I wasn't happy about it. So I decided to re-write the ending. That's how we ended up with this bittersweet scene between Tweek and Craig. Because I'm a softie. You're welcome.
> 
> Also, can we talk about the symbolism of Tweek being trapped in the closet and Craig coming to set him free? Because OHMYGOD. I love that. 
> 
> "My monsters are real, and they’re trained how to kill  
> There’s no coming back and they just laughed at how I feel  
> These monsters can fight, and they’ll never say die  
> There’s no going back, if I get trapped I’ll never heal  
> My monsters are real.”  
> \--Monsters, Shinedown
> 
> Love, Holly.


End file.
